Outsiders
by Kangaimaru
Summary: Smuggled away from Konoha after the Kyubi attack, Naruto and several others must infiltrate Orochimaru-led Konoha and rescue one of their own. Foreword inside.
1. Failure of a Hokage

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. But I so wish I did. (This is the only disclaimer I'm putting up; no need on any other chapters).

Not much to put up here. There's a Forward at the bottom though. I would suggest reading the chapter first, though, or there may be some spoilers for you. Also, a lot of things that may not seem likely or don't make sense are explained in the Forward, so read it if you have a problem with anything. Could help.

Now, onward with the first chapter.

* * *

_**Outsiders**_  
_Prologue: Failure of a Hokage_

_

* * *

_

The beast's howl echoed across the village, sending a horrified shiver down his spine.

It was here.

Namikaze Minato stood outside the Hokage's office. Warnings had come, preparations had been made, but nonetheless the arrival of the Kyubi no Yoko made him question what hope Konoha could still cling on to. After all, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was the oldest, more powerful, and most feared of the legendary Biju. Killing it was undeniably impossible; defeating it was a task of extreme improbability.

It was for that reason that, despite his rank and abilities, Minato now stood here, way in the back of the village. He sighed, and threw open the door.

The Sandaime Hokage stood there, prepared to go into battle against the beast. Sarutobi locked his gaze upon him as he entered.

"Sandaime-sama," he said, bowing.

"What is it, Minato?" Sarutobi asked. "I'm in quite a rush. I'm sure you heard it."

"I…" He struggled to say it. He knew his idea would be difficult to accept. "I have a proposition as to how to defeat the Kyubi."

The former Hokage looked interested. Sarutobi nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"The Nine-Tails is a beast that can't be killed simply by human doing. We have a near impossible task in defeating it with jutsu and other such means." He explained.

Sarutobi nodded.

"…So I'm suggesting an alternative to defeating it."

"And that would be…?" Sarutobi asked in a rather cursory manner.

"We could seal it away."

Sarutobi's eyes widened. "Minato, you don't mean…"

"I do, Sarutobi-sama."

"The Shiki Fuujin…" Sarutobi muttered. "The Demonic Soul Seal…"

"The ultimate sealing art," Minato continued. "It summons Shinigami, the God of Death himself, to seal the targeted entity within his own stomach," Minato explained. "You know how it works."

"So you mean to create a Jinchuriki from this?"

"It is certainly a fate I would not wish on any child. But it is necessary. We have no other alternative in defeating this thing."

"It would be treated as a weapon."

"Perhaps it will. But a weapon for Konoha is an alternative I would gladly take to the village's destruction. One child might suffer… Or it could be seen as a hero."

"You truly think the village would see it as one?"

"It is my hope that they can try."

Sarutobi turned to face the window. The Kyubi could be seen, despite the distance, a great red beast in the forest surrounding the village. It overshadowed every tree and mountain. It was destroying everything in its path.

"What could have wrought such fury…" Sarutobi muttered.

"Sarutobi…?"

"You're proposition is sound and logical. It would be in our best interests. But you are aware of the consequences of the Shiki Fuujin, are you not?"

"I am. I am fully willing to embrace death, if it should save Konoha."

"Is that so? You would throw away your life? Your potential? Even your dreams, Minato?"

"Sir, I wouldn't see it as 'throwing away'…"

"But nonetheless, that it what it would be. Shinobi like you come once per century. Men of your caliber are rare, Minato. Losing you would be a dear cost to the village."

"What village?!" Minato said, irritated. "If I don't do this, there won't be a village to lose me!"

"Oh, there would," Sarutobi answered, his equanimity remaining. "After all, it is not written in stone that _you_ should be the one to do this."

"H-Hokage-sama…"

I've lived for three times as long as you. My prime has ended. You would be more an asset to this village than I, Minato. They need you more than they need me."

"Are you…are you sure?"

"More sure than you. In fact, I am positive. There is no choice to be made. Like you said, there is no preferable alternative."

"Hokage-sama… You are a hero."

"As are you, Minato," Sarutobi said, smiling. He turned to face Minato, and put his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "One so willing to throw away his own life to protect that which is precious to him… That person is a hero forever, whether the chance to do so comes or not. Remember that."

Minato nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Now… I do not believe this kind of decision is meant to be made by a former Hokage. We will need to notify Orochimaru of our plan before we begin."

"Right. I'll head to the battlefield immediately—"

"No."

"…What?" Minato looked at him, confused.

"I will do it myself. You are needed in the battle itself. I'll take care of everything else."

Minato nodded.

"Now go."

Minato formed a hand sign and a disappeared an instant later in a bright, yellow flash.

---

"DUCK!"

The call was barely in time. Orochimaru substituted himself with rubble as the howling wind flew by.

A simple thrust of its tail, and the Kyubi had eliminated an entire line of men. Orochimaru studied the damage. Shinobi lay with limbs missing, blood gushing, and fear like they'd never known before. Some were dead, others yet lived. He felt pity for those that were forced through the terror of motionlessness in the face of hell itself.

Orochimaru was forced to cover his ears as the Kyubi roared. Despite the flames erupting from its mouth, it still managed to force icy cold fear into him.

_Dammit… How can this thing be stopped?_

"Hokage-sama!" He turned to see Hyuga Hizashi calling to him. "We need to fall back! The damage is too great, if we stay, our forces will be decimated!"

"Ten minutes was all it took to completely destroy our front lines…" Orochimaru seethed. This thing was unstoppable.

"Make the order!" He yelled to Hizashi. Biting his thumb, Orochimaru flew through the seals of the Kuchiyose no jutsu and summoned to him a dozen small snakes. "Find every shinobi in the front lines capable of moving! Tell them to fall back!"

He could hardly hear himself over the howl of the Kyubi and screams of the tortured men. Nevertheless, the snakes nodded and slithered off with their message. They were small enough and blended in enough with the surroundings to hopefully avoid being targeted by the Kyubi. Orochimaru inwardly wondered if it could even see them from so far away, and with so great a difference in size.

Following his own order, he ran back, ushering his men with him. They needed to preserve as much manpower as possible. They had to wait until Sarutobi arrived, and perhaps that blasted Jiraiya. Why couldn't he just stay put in the village every once in a while?!

"Orochimaru-sama."

Aburame Shibi had appeared at his side, silent and sneaky as all those of his clan were.

"What is it, Shibi?" He asked.

"We're incapable of getting everyone out in time. The Kyubi is advancing far too quickly."

"We have to get as many men as possible out of here. We can't risk losing them, otherwise all our hope in surviving this are shot!" He argued.

"I know that, sir. But we just don't have the time. If we try to help everyone get out, we'll be killed ourselves. We have to pull back or it'll all end right here."

_Or…we could slow it down._

"I don't care. Shibi, send out the order. Get as many functional shinobi out of here as possible. I have a plan."

"What are you going to do?" The bug master asked.

"Slow it down," he answered.

Shibi nodded, understanding his idea. He ran off, his beetles spreading out into the night.

His thumb was still bleeding from his last summon, so Orochimaru merely wiped it across his hand and slammed down on the earth.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" He cried. He felt himself instantly hefted up high into the air. Within seconds, he was standing atop Manda's head, overlooking the forest and the entire village behind him.

He now stood nearly eye to eye with the Kyubi.

"**SUMMONING ME SO SUDDENLY, OROCHIMARU,**" said Manda. "**THIS WILL WARRANT A SACRIFICE.**"

"Look ahead, Manda! I can't stop this thing without your help!"

The great snake turned to face its enemy. "**HO HO… THE KYUBI NO YOKO, IS IT? WHAT DID YOU DO TO DRAW THIS THING TO YOU, OROCHIMARU?**"

"This isn't the time, Manda!" The snake's eyes widened as a fireball shot through the air in its direction. Orochimaru dropped down and held on to Manda's scales as the snake twisted away from the fireball. "Don't let it hurt the village! We need to stall until we have as many men out of the front lines as possible!"

"**YOU WILL BE REPAYING ME GREATLY FOR THIS!**"

Manda lowered himself down to the earth, then snapped forward, his jaw shooting for the Kyubi's leg. The Fox jumped onto its hind legs to avoid the assault, but Manda twisted upwards and aimed a devastating bite at the demon's throat. However, a powerful gust of wind and a crushing kick from its front legs threw Manda back to the ground.

In retaliation, Manda pulled forward his tail, swiping across the entire forest below. The Kyubi leapt into the air and backwards. The speed at which Manda's tail moved caused it to nearly strike the snake itself, but he regained control of it at the last second.

The Kyubi, meanwhile, landed several hundred feet back. The force of its landing caused a small earthquake that Orochimaru could feel as it vibrated through Manda's entire body.

_Stupid fool! I told him we're trying to SAVE people, not finish them off!_

He would never utter such words to Manda out loud, though, else he'd be left to fend for himself against this demonic beast from hell.

Speaking of which, the Kyubi roared with rage at Manda's aggressiveness. It pulled back its head in preparation before it let loose an astounding howl of flames. Manda ducked but the Kyubi's fire caught a piece of its tail, causing the snake to thrash around in pain and anger.

"Suiton: Mizu Kyousha no jutsu!" Orochimaru summoned as much chakra as he could to pull forth the water from one of the lakes just outside of Konoha to put out the flames.

Looking back, he saw the Kyubi spinning several of its tails. Before he could ask himself what it was trying to do, it released an insane gust of wind. With no time to brace himself, Orochimaru took the full force of the miniature twister. Manda himself was taken aback at the sheer might of the wind; Orochimaru was thrown off of the snake's head and down into the forest below.

"_Seneijashu!_" The shadow snakes erupted from his sleeve and caught onto a tree, softening his fall. Looking back, he saw Manda being trampled by the Kyubi.

Cursing, he got back up. _Now what?_ It seemed like there was no hope in defeating this blasted demon.

"Need a hand, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru spun around. Behind him stood Sarutobi, dressed for battle in his old-fashioned gear.

"Sarutobi… This thing is unstoppable. Not even Manda can hold it back." He said.

"Don't worry. The front lines have completely pulled back. We've found a way to defeat the Kyubi. I haven't the time to explain, I must act. Go back with your men and help them; they need you."

"What will you do?" He asked.

"Like I said, there's no time to explain. Now go!" With that, Sarutobi ran off in Manda's direction. Orochimaru thought he saw a small black bundle under his former master's arm, but he could not make out what exactly it was. Deciding to do as Sarutobi had said, he ran back towards the next line of defense. After all, it was true. From their view, it had seemed like Orochimaru had just been killed by the Kyubi. They would need to know that he was safe, and that he was with them.

---

The scene was the most devastating and horrific Minato had ever witnessed.

Men lay dead and dying everywhere he went. Blood covered the grass, and gigantic splinters born of ripped and flying trees surrounded them. Minato gulped, seeing the epic view of the Fox battling the Hokage's great snake summon, Manda. It was not such a relieving thought when he saw the fox trampling Manda to the ground and unleashing its fiery fury upon it.

"Kakashi!" He spotted his grey-haired student carrying back a larger figure. The boy's single black eye caught sight of him and he quickly made his way toward him.

"Sensei! Where have you been?" He said.

"I had to talk to the Sandaime. He's here, now, too. What's going on?"

"It only took the fox ten minutes to completely obliterate our front lines. Hokage-sama ordered everyone to fall back, but it was advancing too fast. He summoned Manda to stall time for us to get everyone back here."

"From the looks of it, Manda didn't last too long."

"Just long enough."

"What's the next plan of attack?"

"There is none. It's chaos here, no one's in charge anymore. So many people are dying and so many people are trying to take care of them…"

"Where's Rin?" Asked Minato.

"I…I don't know," Kakashi confessed. From the look in his eyes, it was evident that he had not given thought to her location in some time. Clearly he had been preoccupied with keeping himself alive. "The last time I saw her she snuck into the front lines to help the injured. I told to fall back, but…"

Minato grimaced. He knew what Kakashi meant to say next, even if the words never escaped the boy's mouth. They both knew how Rin was; always thinking of the injured before herself. Minato dearly hoped that she had followed Kakashi's orders and pulled back, but deep inside, he knew that that could not be true.

"Minato-san!" Yelled someone about fifty feet away. Minato looked to see Inuzuka Tsume calling out to him. The feral woman ran towards him. Blood was splattered across her jacket, and her dog was nowhere in sight.

"What is it, Tsume?"

"This place is chaos. We need someone to take over."

"Where's Orochimaru-sama?"

"We don't know. The last we saw, he fell off of Manda's head. Hizashi is out looking for him now, but there's no word yet. We need someone to lead, Minato!"

He understood. Sarutobi had considered Minato as an alternative choice to Orochimaru in succeeding him as Hokage. Naturally, with Orochimaru and Sarutobi absent, the lead fell to him.

"We need a plan," he said. He knew that Sarutobi would already be on his way towards Orochimaru and Manda. He needed to get close and high up in order to perform the Shiki Fuujin. But he also needed time, and that required a distraction.

"Listen," he said, "gather every elite Jounin in the area. Bring them to me as quickly as possible." Tsume nodded and went on her way.

"You have a plan, sensei?" Asked Kakashi.

"Not much of one," he answered. "But Sarutobi-sama has a way to end this. We need to distract the Kyubi so that he has time to prepare."

"Right."

He was glad that Kakashi refrained from asking how Sarutobi would stop the beast. Minato had no time to explain how or why he couldn't explain. He needed to come up with a plan to distract the Kyubi so that Sarutobi would have time to prepare the Shiki Fuujin seal.

"How do hundreds of ant-sized people distract one gigantic beast from another…?" He asked himself. Sarutobi would require Manda. They had to get Kyubi away from it.

"We…would need an attack powerful enough to get its attention," Kakashi answered. Minato had not realized that the boy was still listening to him, but he was glad for the help with his train of thought. It was difficult to think in these surroundings.

"Or…" Minato said, "perhaps not something powerful. All we really need is something…close…"

"You're going to send someone _near_ that thing? The chance that they'll survive is—"

"Minimal, I know. But it's our only chance. I don't think anyone here knows any jutsu that can put even a gash on a gargantuan demon fox."

Kakashi sighed, understanding his point. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Meanwhile, Tsume had returned with several other shinobi. Minato accounted for each one.

_Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi, Hyuga Hizashi, Nara Shikaku, Uchiha Shieto, and Hasaki Tetsubo_.

Five people to choose from.

He sighed. "Alright, here's the plan. The Sandaime has a way to stop the Fox, but he needs time. Four of us have to go in near the Nine-Tails and get its attention away from Manda. I'm going to need Shikaku, Shieto, and Tetsubo with me. We're going to sneak in near the Fox. Shieto will use his Sharingan to keep an eye on it and warn us of any danger, Tetsubo will be our backup to help us get away if the Fox turns its full attention to us. Shikaku, I'll need you incase I have a need for a backup plan while we're out there."

The three specified nodded. "The rest of you stay back, keep an eye out for Hokage-sama and follow his lead if he does show up. If not, then reorganize and form the next line of defense, just incase the Fox advances. Now let's go!"

Minato, followed by his new customized team, slowly made his way through the battlefield. Their focus remained on the path ahead, with the exception of Uchiha Shieto, whom was watching the Kyubi.

Minato looked up for an instant to see what the beast was doing. Manda had escaped its wrath and slithered away to recuperate. The Fox seemed intent on killing it, but Manda managed to land a powerful whiplash of its tail on the Kyubi's cheek.

Turning around, he said, "This is our chance! We have to dash in near it! Cover me while I get my Rasengan ready."

The three nodded. Minato took one last glance at the Kyubi and ran forward, the shiny blue mass of swirling chakra forming in his right palm. In the background, he heard Manda cry out in a shriek of pain. He hoped it had not returned to the home of the snakes, or Sarutobi would have some trouble.

He looked back at his team, quickly making its way behind him.

"Look out!" Shieto screamed suddenly. Minato looked back just in time to see the Kyubi's attention fix on him before the fox's hellfire was let loose upon them. He felt shocking fear inside of him as what appeared to be hell itself descended on them. Remembering his conversation with Sarutobi, he fought back the fear. He released the Rasengan in his hand, feeling only a tinge of pain washed out by the fear and panic of the situation. He grabbed the closest person to him and, as fiery death blew past, disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and found himself far away from the Kyubi's fire. He had just barely avoided it, but he could not say the same for his team. He looked to his side to see who he had saved and found Shikaku, his body half burned, laying beside him.

Finding the strength to stand, Minato got up and studied his injured comrade. "Shikaku, are you alive? Come on, speak!"

"Argh," muttered the Nara. "Such a…pain."

"Can you stand?" Minato asked, but he already knew the answer. Shikaku was undoubtedly mortally injured. He had no medical equipment on him. It was over for the shadow-manipulator.

Minato stood. There was nothing he could do, and he had no time for the dying man. He looked up and saw that Manda had returned to his fall height, and atop his head a figure stood. It was Sarutobi.

"Minato…" Shikaku struggled to say. "My…wife…"

Minato had meant to tell Shikaku not to make his death more painful than it already was, but he could see in the man's eyes where his sentence was going. There was already sorrow in them that could not have been wrought by his own death. Shikaku's wife must have died somewhere on the battlefield.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. He had to leave and help Sarutobi.

"My son…" Shikaku said. Minato nodded. He knew what Shikaku was asking, but he had no time to deal with it now.

---

Sarutobi sighed. This was it.

In a flash of light, Minato appeared beside him atop Manda's head. "Sarutobi," he said, "are you ready?"

Looking at the young man, Sarutobi saw several burns and blood. He couldn't tell whose blood it was, but he did notice the swirl-shaped scar adorned on Minato's right palm. "Clearly more ready than you."

Minato studied his hand and body. "It's nothing. I'm…fine."

_Perhaps physically…but not psychologically._

There was no time for this, though. The Kyubi had begun to attack the outer rim of the village itself. The winds and fire had already devastated a majority of the outer wall and the buildings near it. If the Kyubi got any further, the entire village could be destroyed.

"We must begin now," he said. "Take this." He handed Minato the black bundle that he carried in his arms. Minato grasped the baby as Sarutobi sat down and began the seals. This would take some time. Behind him, Minato unraveled the blanket and saw the seal inscribed on his stomach.

"Hurry, Sarutobi-sama," Minato said. "It's about to destroy what's left of the wall."

_I'm doing what I can!_ He thought. But he had no time to say it out loud. He had to concentrate on this, and losing his focus was not an option.

"**HURRY IT UP, HUMAN**," Manda said, "**I'M NOT WAITING MUCH LONGER.**"

A few seconds more, and Sarutobi stood back up. "Minato, the boy," he said.

Minato held up the baby boy as Sarutobi performed the final seal.

"It's time," said Sarutobi. Minato nodded. He clasped his hands together. "Fuujin Jutsu: Shiki Fuujin!"

_The Demonic Soul Seal… The Dead Demon Imprisonment… Here it goes!_

He felt a tremor within his body before a coldness overtook him, signaling the arrival of the Shinigami. Silence suddenly overtook the battlefield as the Kyubi's head spun around, its gaze resting dead upon him. Sarutobi stared the beast straight down, not once faltering against its mighty snarl.

"This is it!" He yelled. "Begone!"

A bright white light appeared, overcastting the forest. The Shinigami's hand sprung out through the boy's stomach and launched forward. The Kyubi met it head on, running forward toward them. The light flashed, blinding Sarutobi.

It was the last thing he saw.

As the light dissipitated, all he found in its place was darkness. He felt Manda disappear beneath him, and Minato grab him and bring him down to the ground with his Flying Thundergod technique for which he was so famous.

Minato laid him down on the ground. "Sarutobi…" He heard the man say.

"Minato," he said quickly. "Listen to me. I can't fathom what Orochimaru may try to do with such power as this boy will wield. Please, I beg of you. Do not explain to him what has happened. Make him think that the Kyubi is dead. Let him believe that there was no Jinchuriki created this night."

"I…I see. I will."

"T…thank you, Minato."

And then everything stopped.

---

Minato stood above the dead figure of Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage.

_Truly…heroic._ He thought.

But more importantly, he had been assigned the task to keep this boy safe from Orochimaru. How he would go about doing that…

Inside, he knew that Orochimaru would discover the truth. He would question the accuracy of the night. He would wonder why this boy had sprouted whisker marks. His seal would eventually be seen and identified. There was no stopping it.

No. Minato knew the only way to keep the Jinchuriki safe from Orochimaru was to take him away. He had to smuggle the boy away from Konoha. Luckily, he was an orphan. Minato knew that Sarutobi would not have asked anyone to give up their child to such a fate. But to put such pressure on one without parents…

His resolve was even more definite now. He was probably suspected dead already, after the Fox's attack that he had barely avoided and Shikaku barely escaped.

_Shikaku…_

He thought back to Shikaku's dying words. _"My son…"_ His son would be orphaned now too. As would Hasaki's daughter.

_Am I really going to do this?_ He thought. But he had already made up his mind.

Not an hour later, Minato stood on the outskirts of Konoha. He had with him a small package of supplies, the bloodied clothes he wore, and five orphaned children. He knew that perhaps some of them might be better off remaining in Konoha, but with the damage and the time that would be spent searching through all the rubble, they would probably be better off with him.

He studied them each. He had with him Shikaku's boy, Shikamaru, as well as Hasaki Tetsubo's daughter Tenten. There was also a pink-haired girl named Sakura, whose dying mother had begged him to take her after he had acquired the former two. And lastly, a somewhat older child that Minato guessed was named Rock Lee, as the boy would not quit saying it.

He sighed. _This is going to be a difficult decade…_

* * *

**FORWARD**

Welcome, and thanks for reading. This story is my third in the making. And yes, I realize that the others are nowhere near far along, but I had so much inspiration for **_Outsiders_** that I couldn't stop myself from beginning it. If it's any concern, please be sure that while I will probably focus more on this story than the others, **_Loser Uchiha_** and **_Shinigami no Nara_** will both continue.

First off, in terms of the story, I'd like to explain a few things. By now, I am assuming that you've read the entire Prologue. If not, go back and read it or skip this part.

Anyway, the first part of the story focuses only on Konoha. I'm warning you now, the plot of Part I of the story is based on the plot of Bleach. More specifically, it's based on the Soul Society/Rescue Rukia arc of Bleach. But don't think that it'll be exactly the same story. It's based on the plot of Bleach, but the plot idea has been adapted to fit in with the Naruto setting and characters, as well as the continuation of the story that I have planned (which in no way resembles the continuation of Bleach, at least in my opinion). There will also be no mention of any Bleach characters or anything else that comes from Bleach.

I personally think that I adapted the plot pretty well, and it should end up far enough from Bleach that it won't matter and the story should still be enjoyable. If you're going to stop reading this story just because the beginning of it is somewhat based on Bleach, then you are probably missing out.

Another thing I would like to warn readers about: At this time, I have not completed the entire plot and I don't know yet exactly how the story will end. The reason for this is that my ending is heavily reliant on the ending of the Canon Naruto series. Once I know where things are going in the Manga, I'll be able to formulate the ending to my story. But at this point, I have written chapter summaries for SIXTY-FOUR (64) chapters. As of now, the story works like this:

Part I:

Arc 1

Arc 2

Part II:

Arc 3

Arc 4

Arc 5

Part III:

Undecided

Part IV:

Undecided

Parts one and two alone encompass ~64 decent sized chapters, so you're good for a long, long time. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if by the time I get that far, the Naruto Manga is already over.

Now, there's a few things I'd like to explain about the Prologue:

About Orochimaru and Minato: Yes. In this story, Orochimaru became the Yondaime Hokage instead of Namikaze Minato. In fact, this change is the direct and/or indirect cause for nearly every difference between the story and the canon.

About the Orphaned Children: Obviously, all of these kids with the exception of Naruto have parents in the story. But only one of them has ever had his parents shown, ergo I had to write in Shikaku's death. The others were optimal choices to become the Orphans along with Naruto because their parents were never shown and I could easily say that they happened to die in the battle against the Kyubi. But I needed one more and all the others from the Konoha 12 had revealed parents, so I decided to choose between Shikamaru and Ino, whose families appear to be the smallest (compared to the Hyuga, Aburame, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and Uchiha). Shikamaru happened to fit the role I have set for him better than Ino (likewise, she fits her role better as well).

Now, you may be wondering: if Shikaku and the other parents didn't die in the Canon battle against Kyubi, why would they die here? The answer is simple. Compared to Minato in Canon, Orochimaru did a horrible job leading Konoha against the Kyubi (Hence the chapter name!). Therefore, more damage was caused to Konoha and more people died. You'll see this trend of Orochimaru as Hokage vs Minato as Hokage appear plenty more times throughout the story.

About Sarutobi: While fighting Orochimaru in the Manga, Sarutobi did not possess the strength to seal away even his entire body. Granted, this is at the old age of 60+, after a long battle against his two predecessors and Orochimaru himself AND splitting his chakra into three (himself and two Kage Bunshin). This leads me to believe that Sarutobi, while twelve years younger than in that situation, would probably be able to seal away Kyubi.

About Uchiha Shieto and Hasaki Tetsubo: Yes, both are made up. In my other story, **_Loser Uchiha_**, Uchiha Shieto is the name of Obito's father. In _**Shinigami no Nara**_, I used Hasaki as Tenten's surname.

About Minato Raising Five Kids: Far-fetched, I know. But it's important to the story. Anyway, this stage of the story will take only about 3-4 chapters at most (I may choose to shorten even that number) before the story really kicks off.

That's about it! Any other questions can be asked in reviews, I'll make sure to answer them. I don't know yet when I'll go on to the next chapter, as this is kind of a preview to the story. If I get enough feedback then I'll get to work immediately, otherwise it might take some time before I go on.

About Naruto: As you may have noticed, Minato has shown no relation to Naruto whatsoever. In this story, Naruto is not the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. For the most part, this is because I don't like the idea of Naruto being the son of Minato. It contradicts the entire notion of the underdog, the whole mentality that Naruto has had of "clanless underdog" vs "prodigious bloodline". To be able to say that being great is in Naruto's blood, that it's due to his genetics and who his father or mother was rather than that he became great by his own sheer will, determination, and hard work is an insult to his character. To me, Naruto is the underdog. And he'll remain that way.

Of course, there's also the fact that it would have a powerful effect on the way Minato raises him in comparison to the other orphans, and I don't want to have to deal with the father/son relationship at all. Naruto's parentage may or may not become important later in the story, though. Keep an eye out for it.

-Kangaimaru

Please: READ and REVIEW!


	2. A Family Woven Together

Sorry for the wait, although I guess it's not as bad as my other stories have had to go through. In any case, chapter 2 is here and I am continuing the story, and I'll try to update as quickly as I can. Particularly this first arc, since the story doesn't really get interesting or into the main plot until its end. So for that reason, I'm going to try to get the next 4 chapters written and uploaded as fast as I can.

Anyway, this is the plot outline for the story so far. I'll probably add an updated version at every new arc to signify the end/beginning of the previous and new arc.

Part I - Konohagakure  
Arc 1 - The Years  
Arc 2 - ???  
Part II - ???  
Arc 3 - ???  
Arc 4 - ???  
Arc 5 - ???  
Part III - ???

* * *

_**Outsiders**_

_2 - A Family Woven Together_

Xxxxx

Namikaze Minato was breathing heavily, studying his opponent's move. It was quite unexpected. Foreseeable, of course, and yet…

Minato narrowed his eyes.

This upset his entire stratagem. He would need to retreat and reevaluate before making another offensive move. Being forced into a defensive position meant he had to risk losing everything that he had worked for all this time, everything he had…

He could not allow that to happen. He studied his enemy carefully. What had he missed? What advantage could he still make use of? Certainly there had to be something. Had he really been so bested, so cornered that he had nothing remaining in his arsenal?

_Careful, Minato,_ he told himself. _You've been in this position before. You've been in worse places. You can handle this; this is nothing!_

He bit his lip. To do this…he had to risk a gambit. But there was no alternative; it was this or lose it all. With all his might, his courage, he struck.

_Tick._

"Moved your Silver General, huh? That's what I was hoping for."

_Dammit!_

Minato face-palmed(1), realizing his move had been entirely set up and countered. How could he allow himself to fall for this trap?

_Just like his father._

The young Nara yawned as he finished the Shogi match himself. Minato knew he had a better chance of winning by letting the boy move his pieces for him. In thirty seconds, the match was done and the boy was off. "Good game," said Shikamaru, in his lazy manner that reminded Minato so much of Shikaku.

Minato stood himself, watching Shikamaru walk away. "Maybe I ought to actually pay attention the first twenty minutes from now on…" he said, but only loud enough for himself to hear.

It had been eight years since the Kyubi's attack on Konoha. Inwardly, Minato wondered how Konoha had faired in the time that had passed, but all he knew was the few bits of information he gained from his former teacher, Jiraiya, whenever the old pervert passed by. By the way he gathered, however, it seemed that neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade took many chances to visit Konoha. Both had been repulsed by their former teammate's leadership.

Be that as it may, he still managed to learn much about the dealings of the shinobi world from Jiraiya's visits. Having faked his death, Minato had been cut off from the shinobi societies and had no alternative way to find any news. He couldn't risk revealing his existence, and yet he felt bound by his own identity to keep track of current events.

He had also made it a point to keep Jiraiya away from the orphans. On the surface, he simply acted as though he did not want the man to corrupt their young minds. However, he knew inside that he had become deeply afraid of teaching them Ninjutsu. It was in their heritage, in their _blood_ to become shinobi. And yet, they were so young…so innocent! He could not bear the thought of any of them growing up to become trained killers, as he had. And whenever Jiraiya paid him a visit, he realized, he feared the chance that he may overexpose them to the ninja arts.

Part of him did feel somewhat guilty, of course. He was robbing these children of their only inheritance. In the shinobi world, one did not gain land or money from his or her parents. They were given an art; a weapon, unique to themselves, something that only they could possess. To bar them from that inheritance was an insult to their parents and a grievance upon the children.

So for the time being, he decided, he would simply wait. If they showed that they could mature enough for the shinobi ways, he would allow them to study ninjutsu. Otherwise, they would grow up as they were; simple villagers.

Minato casually followed Shikamaru's path outside of the building they had come to call home. Minato had taken heavy concern in where he would settle down to watch after these kids. He knew he needed to get far away enough from Konoha to make sure that Naruto was a good strong distance from the village. He also didn't want anyone coming through the village and finding them, so he had chosen a rather secluded area that wasn't likely for any shinobi to go through.

In the end, they had settled in a village called Satowa, in the southern territory of the Fire Country. Minato had winded up there during a mission once, injured. A few of the villagers had taken him in and helped him to recover. He had offered to return the favor by protecting the village, but due to the mission he currently completing, he had not been able to fulfill that favor. Now, however, he was living there, and was able to do so. The villagers who had taken him in once had done so a second time, allowing for a comfortable home for Minato, as well as the orphans.

Needless to say, he knew nearly nothing of caring for children, so it was a great relief that the villagers did. They helped him raise all five. Not one of the kids was able to call any person "father" or "mother", but what they had made due. Despite the lack of a standard conventional family or childhood, they at least had a surrogate family, woven together both by luck and tragedy.

Although, Minato had to admit, it was still quite a strange family.

Minato exited the rather large building that served as their house, blocking the sudden onslaught of sunshine with his hand.

Looking ahead, he saw that Shikamaru had already settled down for a new game of Shogi, this time with a new opponent. The kid was bright, but just as his father, he was a lazy good-for-nothing, despite his very young age. Most eight year olds were bursting with so much energy that it often seemed as if they had popped a surplus of soldier pills, but Shikamaru was a completely different matter. He was patient, calm, and acted strangely older than Minato himself. He hardly played with the other kids in the village, saying their games required too much effort. In the words of Nara Shikaku, they were too bothersome to deal with.

"Yosh! Today I shall at last defeat you, Shikamaru-kun!"

What Shikamaru was not, Lee definitely was. Minato had stumbled across him during his swift departure from the village. "Rock Lee" were the only words he ever said at that point, so Minato had assumed that that was his name. The boy was energetic and focused. He was Shikamaru's complete opposite; he put everything he had into everything he did and worked harder than anyone Minato had ever seen. And yet, it would seem, he could never match up to Shikamaru's superior and growing intellect.

Minato watched as the boys made their opening moves. Even this early in the game, Lee was already ensnared in one of Shikamaru's intricate traps.

Minato sighed and left them where they were. They'd be done soon enough anyway.

Heading further into town, Minato watched for his other charges. He knew where to find two of them. Within a few minutes, he found the same flower shop he always found the two in. It was owned by a young woman named Tori, the daughter of one of the women who had helped him raise the kids. She had been somewhat young when Minato and the others arrived in Satowa, but by now she had matured and earned the obsessive attention of the two girls Minato took care of.

"Ah, Tenten-chan, that design is so cute!" Minato heard as he neared the store. That was surely Tori.

"Really?!"

"Uh huh, of course!"

"What about mine? What about mine?!"

"Yours too, Sakura-chan!"

Minato casually slid open the screen keeping out the insects and poked his head in.

"Ah, Minato-san! How are you today?"

"I'm fine, fine."

"Minato, Minato, look! Look what I made!"

Minato looked at the source of the yelling. Like Lee, he had found Haruno Sakura while making his exit from the village. He had found her mother terribly wounded and unlikely to survive, and she had begged him to take her Sakura with him. Of course, her mother was probably not aware that Minato was on his way to leave the village, but Minato knew that medical aid would not be arriving there any time soon and that Sakura would most likely be better off coming with him.

As the years passed by, Sakura had clearly been the exact definition of the average pre-adolescent girl. Minato had watched as she went through her phases; shy, bold, depressed, friendly, unfriendly… Practically everything. And he had no doubt she would continue into the standard trend of teenage females as well. But overall, she got along fine with the others. At times, she would have a rare burst of rage and brutality, most likely directed towards one of the guys. But such an occurance was uncommon.

"Wow, Sakura, that's…beautiful!" He said, looking at the arrangement of flowers that Tori had now placed at windowsill. He honestly had no idea what he was looking at; to him, it just looked like a jumble of colors in a box of dirt, but Tori seemed to approve. Nevertheless, he had succeeded in pretending to be a father who was pretending to understand and acknowledge her work.

"Hey, I made something too!"

Tenten, as well as Lee, was a year older than the other three. She was the daughter of Hasaki Tetsubo, one of the most skilled and courageous shinobi Minato had ever fought alongside of. Tetsubo had been one of those whom he had, reproachfully, led to his death against the Kyubi. She was, already at her age, starting to show what Minato could only describe as "girl power" that he had only seen in Tsunade-sama when she was younger. Undoubtedly, Tenten would have made a great kunoichi had she been in Konoha. Her tough attitude somehow mixed well with her femininity, almost like a young Tsunade, though perhaps not as arrogant.

Minato looked around to see what Tenten had made, but he didn't spot another box of flowers.

"Hm?" He said. "What'd you make…?"

"The box! I made the box!"

"What?"

Tori casually walked by him, saying, "Tenten carved out the container that Sakura's flowers are sitting in." Minato looked at the box-shaped container, noticing the intricate design carved on the outside. He stared at it, impressed by the handiwork.

"What'd she use?" He asked.

"Just a plain old knife. I couldn't believe she was even able to pierce the clay, let alone hollow it out!"

"Huh." He had no idea that Tenten was that strong… She was athletic, of course. Almost as strong as Lee, in fact, despite his excessive practice of everything he had ever learned.

"What brings you here, anyway, Minato?" Tori asked.

"Well, actually…" He scratched the back of his head, thinking about the reason he had come so far into town. "I spent most of the morning waiting for Naruto to wake up. I only just recently realized that he wasn't there to begin with. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"Like Naruto would come to a flower shop…" Said Tenten behind them.

"Haven't seen him, sorry," Tori said. "Though, knowing him, he's probably off causing-"

She was cut off by the sound of an angry man yelling. "Hey kid, watch where you're going!"

"-trouble," she finished.

Minato sighed and rubbed his head. He knew this was bound to cause a headache.

"Send Sakura and Tenten home in time for dinner, if you don't mind," he said as he left.

"Will do."

Outside, Minato found quite the scene.

"Sorry, old man! But I can't stop to help, I have to catch this thing!"

"Get back here, brat!"

Naruto, by far, was the most eccentric of the group. Undoubtedly, he was also the most, dare he say it? The most troublesome of the group, as Shikamaru would put it. The blond blurr was filled to the brim with energy 24/7, and seemingly only used that to pull pranks and fill his stomach with ramen. The tiny Jinchuriki was the standard "blessing-that-isn't-really-a-blessing" kind of kid. From the time that Naruto first learned to walk, Minato had realized that the Kyubi was not yet done terrorizing him. Admittedly, pranks weren't as bad as death and destruction, but he would damn it all if Naruto wasn't the most annoying and stubborn little kid that ever lived.

But of course, he still loved the little brat. Minato had always felt some sort of special connection to Naruto that he didn't have with any of the others. Perhaps it had something to do with him being mistaken for Naruto's father, what with their eerily similar appearance. It was strange, and Minato often wondered what really had caused it. But it was almost as if he felt like he was a father to Naruto whereas he was more an uncle to the other four.

"Minato!"

"Hm?" Minato looked up to find the angry man pointing the blame at him.

"Keep that brat in check, will you?! He almost destroyed my vegetable cart!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that! I'll go catch him right now. Now, where did he go…"

Something in the way the man stomped off told Minato he was not at all reassured by his easygoing reaction to Naruto's havoc.

Minato was just contemplating what direction Naruto may have gone in when lady luck struck him a useful favor. The blond was already on his back, but not before a dark blurr ran past. As Naruto flew by, Minato quickly reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

"H-hey! Ah, Minato! Let go, I've gotta catch that rabid beast of a cat!"

"Calm down, Naruto," he said as the blonde squirmed around to get out of his hold. It was a worthless effort, however, as Minato refused to let go. "What are you even doing chasing that thing around? You're causing chaos all over the place. You almost destroyed that poor guy's fruit cart."

"Vegetable Cart!" The man yelled from wherever he had gone, but Minato ignored it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Naruto responded. "But I've gotta catch that thing to make it up to Mr. Square-head!"

"Mr. Square-head…? What?"

Minato's thoughts drifted to a villager he vaguely remembered as having a peculiar square-shaped head.

"Look, just calm down for a minute and I'll let go," he said.

Naruto begrudgingly stopped struggling and Minato let go of his collar. "Now, explain again. _What_ are you doing?"

"Well, yesterday I pulled a prank on Mr. Square-head's cat and then he got all mad at me… But then Shikamaru talked to him and made him decide to let me off the hook if I catch the stupid cat and bring it back!"

"Shikamaru did that?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

_Stupid kid knew where Naruto was all along and didn't even bother to tell me…_

"My, my, Naruto. You're a handful. Besides, how hard could it be to catch a cat anyway?"

"Hey! That thing's claws are sharp! I'm all cut up from trying to grab it!" The blond boy yelled.

"Whatever, it's alright. Look, I'll catch the cat. You go home and make yourself some ramen or something."

"R-really?! Thanks, Minato!"

Minato sighed as the boy ran off. Of course, catching a cat was a simple task for the Konoha no Kiiroi Senko, "Konoha's Yellow Flash". A blurr could not compete in speed with a flash. But dealing with Naruto's troublemaking had, as he predicted, given him quite the headache.

Xxxxx

That night, Minato sat in a bar with his friend, Sagisu, who was a retired shinobi of Konoha. Minato had quickly befriended the ex-ninja, who was willing to keep Minato's secret. He was only famous among shinobi, and Minato didn't need the villagers knowing he was a powerful and infamous soldier that had almost become Hokage.

Sagisu poured him a drink. "Seems like your brats are giving you a headache," he said, chuckling.

"You wouldn't believe it. Just today, I had to stop Naruto from destroying every food stand in town just because he was chasing after a cat, which itself was only done as reparation for pranking someone."

"Heh, geez. You're so sure these kids wouldn't be better off in Konoha? I mean, between their stamina, intellect, determination, athleticism, and early start, they could make some impressive shinobi one day."

Sagisu was referring to each of their individual talents, for the most part. Naruto's stamina was beyond imagination. Shikamaru could quite possibly be categorized as a genius for his age. Lee could probably make progress in anything considering his work ethic, and Tenten was already showing skill that reminded Minato greatly of her father. After all, who else would be so handy with a sharp weapon at only nine years of age?

"I'm not so sure about that," he answered. "I mean, I don't know what it is. It's just, the thought of those kids becoming shinobi… It just seems a bit off to me. It seems strange. I can't imagine them on missions; escorts, bodyguards, assassins…"

"Hey, they're still young. I doubt anyone can imagine a kid so small becoming a ninja. But they all have potential… And even at their age, it is possibly for a kid to be a shinobi. I hear things when I go out. You're not the only one keeping in touch with the shinobi world. Apparently there's some genius kid in Konoha who graduated the Academy at seven. He was already a Genin when he was the same age as some of your kids are now."

"Seven years old, huh?" Minato's thoughts turned to Kakashi, his old student. The boy was, supposedly, a Chunin by the age of six. Minato had never bothered to confirm that rumor, but no doubt, if it was true then it was due to the tutelage of Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo. The White Fang. What could compare to that?

"Yeah. He's an Uchiha." Sagisu continued.

Oh. Right.

The Uchiha could compare to that.

"That's quite impressive, even for an Uchiha."

"Yep. But, you know, so are your kids. Even though they're not growing up in a Hidden Village… It maybe wouldn't hurt to show them some Ninjutsu. I mean, it's in their blood isn't it? They were all born in Konoha. They should all have it in them to become shinobi."

"Hm. Maybe they do."

_But maybe they don't…_

"Anyway, it can never hurt to find out."

"What?" Minato knew he probably had a bewildered look on his face. What his friend was suggesting, he was not sure. But he knew it was probably one of those strange, kooky plans of his.

Sagisu chuckled. "Heheh, well. You could give them a test. If they prove that they're worthy and have potential, you train them as ninja. If not to become real, professional shinobi, then at least to be able to defend themselves. You never know what may happen."

"I suppose…" said Minato. "that may not be all too bad of an idea."

"It wouldn't?" Sagisu repeated. "I mean, of course it wouldn't!"

Minato sweatdropped. Was he not being a serious with his idea…?

"Actually, I think I'll try it. I'll give them a test."

"Hmph. What kind of test, then?"

"Oh, I've got something in mind." Inwardly, Minato's thoughts drifted to a memory from oh so long ago. One that Jiraiya-sensei had embedded deeply and heavily in his mind. "You don't happen to own any bells, do you?"

Xxxxx

The next day, Minato stood in a hastily made, makeshift training ground. He had made a clearing in the neighboring woods using a multitude of Rasengans. It wasn't nearly as big as any of the training grounds back in Konoha, but it would have to make due. After all, it wasn't like he was examining a fresh squad of Genin from the Academy. He was testing the potential of five young children.

His memory flashed back to that day, oh so long ago. The day he had acquired the apprenticeship of two new Genin and a young Chunin.

_Obito, Rin, Kakashi… I wonder if these kids can follow in your footsteps?_

Well, he was about to find out.

All five stood in front of him, at that very moment.

Naruto.

Tenten.

Lee.

Sakura.

Shikamaru.

Most of them were groggy and wondering what was going on. Little did they know what Minato had in store for them. For this, he had decided it would be time to bring back out the infamous survival examination exercise that had been passed down through several generations. He had little doubt that if Kakashi was attempting to take on students back at home, he would be using this test, although Minato wouldn't have been surprised if the White Fang's young legacy had added his own twists to it.

"Hey, Minato, what're we doing here, anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm… Good of you to ask, Naruto," he answered. "Although, I'd like to know if any of you can guess? Why are we here, any ideas?"

"We're…playing a game?" Lee suggested. Minato shook his head. No.

"Um, are we doing some sort of group exercise?" Tenten asked.

"That's closer to the mark," Minato said, putting a little more seriousness into his voice. It was time to be serious, after all. "What we're doing here today…is a survival exercise."

"S-surival…exercise?" Said Sakura.

"Yes."

"What do you mean by survival?" Asked Naruto.

"Well, let's put it this way… You can consider this like a game of tag you guys might play with the other kids in the village. Although, I guess it's tag…with a mix of those brawls Naruto and Tenten get into."

"Hey, that was only once!" Yelled Tenten. True, she had been protecting Lee, who was too polite to fight. Strange how she was willing to get into a brawl and Lee was not.

"Wait, so we're fighting?" Asked Naruto.

"We're fighting?" Repeated Sakura.

"Essentially…yes."

"Against…against _you_?

Good. They were starting to get an idea of what he was about to force them to do.

"Well, that's the idea."

This time Lee spoke up. "But if we were to fight against you, what chance do we have of winning? You're bigger than us. How are we supposed to win?"

"I'm glad you asked. The point of the exercise isn't to beat me in a fight, so don't worry."

"It's to _survive_ a fight with you…right?" Shikamaru piped up. It was the first thing he had said since his patented "how troublesome" upon being woken up too early in the morning.

"Sharp as ever, Shikamaru. But still not completely there." Reaching into his pocket, Minato revealed five small bells, each hanging on a short string. "You're task is to obtain one bell for each of you. In order to do that, you have to take me on in a fight. But, like Lee said, beating me would be difficult. Too difficult for even all of you combined, in fact. But of course, that's only true if this is going to be a fair fight."

"What do you mean?" Asked Naruto.

"To put it simply, I call this a survival exercise because the idea is to simulate a battle. The primary priority in a life or death situation is survival, isn't it? Even if you're fighting for some sort of cause, whether it's protecting someone else, escaping your enemy, or obtaining something from your enemy, the fact always remains that you must stay alive. After all, if you get killed in the process of accomplishing your goal, success becomes impossible, doesn't it?"

"But what's the point of all this anyway?" Shikamaru asked.

"There will be times in your lives where you will find yourself in a life or death situation. It's quite likely that it will be a similar situation to this. I want you to be prepared, and to do that, I have to make sure you start preparing early on. And besides, a little exercise never really hurt anyone."

He had left out the fact that this was really a test of their skill and potential. But the rest stood true nonetheless. These kids were all from Konoha. Even though they weren't growing up there, even though they currently didn't even have a clue that they had all been _born_ there, that fact didn't change. They were not like the civilian children in Satowa. Minato could see it already; chakra pathways were growing within them; their bodies were developing into those of a shinobi. Sooner or later, someone was going to notice a difference between them and ordinary kids. Sooner or later, a shinobi from Konoha, or perhaps another Hidden Village, would pass through Satowa. They couldn't stay hidden forever.

And when a time and situation such as that came, Minato wanted them to be prepared, even if he didn't train them in the way of the shinobi.

Not to mention, his own presence was a huge threat to their lives. True, he had faked his death during the Kyubi's attack to escape Konoha. And he knew for a fact that no one had seen him when he gathered the orphans and took his leave. His skill as a shinobi accounted for that. But people would still wonder, why hadn't the infamous "Yellow Flash" of Konoha, rumored to travel at the speed of light without breaking a sweat, not been able to escape the fury of the Kyubi? Even the Demon Fox wasn't that quick.

Conspiracy theories aside, however, the point was that he wanted to ensure the orphans' safety, whether he was there to help them or not.

"In any case," he continued, "you also need to get a grasp of reality. Not everything in life is fun and games, like it has been these past eight years. I'm hoping this exercise will start to show you that."

Minato studied their faces, analyzing every detail and obtaining whatever information he could. Although Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura looked a bit hesitant at the idea, Lee and Tenten seemed anxious to begin. No surprise there. Both of them had already been over a year old when he had smuggled them out of Konoha; the background of shinobi and battles was a little more familiar to them, though subconsciously. Minato was sure they could still remember Konoha, if only a little. In fact, he was quite surprised that they had yet to say anything about it.

"And there's a little more to it that I have yet to explain," he said. "There are five bells, one for each of you. There are also five bento boxes containing your lunches. Whoever gets a bell for themselves will receive lunch and leisure time in return. However, anyone who fails to obtain a bell…doesn't get lunch. And more than that, you'll have to watch as I eat your lunch right in front of your face, while you're tied to a tree."

All their faces fell. He could tell that not one of them wanted to be subject to the humiliation of being tied to a tree while their "siblings" ate, or the starvation that it would cause.

"Tch. How troublesome…"

_Anything else?_ It had been awhile since he had last administered this test. About nine or ten years, in fact.

If this was the original test as he had adopted and redesigned it, then none of them would have had any breakfast that morning. But, as it was, they were still young, and he was afraid of pushing any of them too far. Besides, it wasn't as if they had volunteered for this life and dedicated several years to studying and preparing for it in a school.

Nevertheless, he was sure they all would have had they been given the opportunity.

"Just one last thing," he said. All five faces looked up at him. Fear and anxiety looked him straight in the eyes, but there was a tinge of determination as well. "If you want to succeed… You'll have to come at me with the complete intention of hurting me." Saying kill would probably be overkill for these children… "If you hold back, even a little, you won't have any chance at success. Are you ready?"

Naruto, Tenten, and Lee looked him in the eyes and grinned. Shikamaru looked a little less excited at the idea of combat with an adult and their surrogate father this early in the morning, but he was probably telling himself now to just think of it as a new, strange version of Shogi. Lastly, Sakura looked hesitant, but a tad bit of peer pressure and peer encouragement would probably solve her problem.

"Let's begin."

Xxxxx

"Let's begin."

Minato took a stance, his left arm folded politely behind his back and his right held out towards the five kids, palm open.

Nobody moved. Naruto felt sweat building up on the back of his neck. He couldn't take this tension. Nobody wanted to be the first to risk attacking Minato; they feared the consequences of doing so.

Tenten turned her head slowly, making eye contact with Lee. A second of nonverbal communication, and the understanding was met. They both nodded and got in position. Both had been in fights before. They at least had an idea of how to do this, and as long as they fought together they had a better overall chance.

_Alright, here we go…_ thought Tenten.

However, a loud warcry interrupted her thoughts.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Naruto unexpectedly broke the tension, bursting forward. His fist raised, he ran straight at Minato, who merely smirked at the daring assault.

Without taking his eyes off the others, Minato smacked away Naruto's punch, throwing the blond boy off in the wrong direction. Naruto ended up tripping on his own feet and falling forward.

Tenten bit her lip. No point in waiting. She and Lee ran forward at the same time, heading for Minato. However, Tenten swerved off to the right, running around Minato in a circle. If she and Lee attacked from opposite directions, perhaps they could land a hit! It was worth a shot, anyway.

Lee followed Naruto's action and thrust forward with all his strength, aiming as powerful a punch as he could muster to Minato's face. As expected, the tall blond easily intercepted the attack, but before Lee could continue in Naruto's footsteps, Tenten struck.

"Hyaaaaah!" She threw a roundhouse kick at Minato's, but he was too quick. While Lee was still in midair, Minato knocked away his fist and thrust Lee into the air, grabbing him by the shirt. Meanwhile, he spun his torso around and caught Tenten's ankle with his left hand.

Smirking, Minato casually pushed Tenten's leg up. Unable to catch her balance, she fell backward. Minato then used his now free left hand to help hold up Lee above his head.

"Too simple," he said, throwing Lee at Naruto, who was just getting back up. The older boy was thrown right into Naruto's side, sending them both on a long tumble.

"You'll need to try harder than that," Minato continued. "You three have obviously mustered the intention to cause me harm… It makes me wonder how good of a guardian I've really made all these years. But the fact remains, you'll need to come at me with something a bit more intricate than that. I'm no fool."

"Dammit, you hit too hard!" Naruto complained. "How are we supposed to hurt you when you keep hurting US?!"

"Find a way!" Minato yelled. Tenten, who had now gotten back up, gasped as Minato lunged at her. He thrust his palm forward, and she, unprepared for the attack, was thrown backwards. He grabbed her by the ankle once again, but this time Minato used his full strength to throw Tenten at both other boys. Lee managed to get away in time, but Naruto took the hit again.

"Ow! That HURT! Stop throwing people at me, Minato!"

Minato chuckled. "Make me!" He yelled.

Naruto's jaw clenched. In a fit of frustration and anger, he shot back up and ran straight at Minato again. This time he attempted to kick him, aiming down low at the shins. Minato, calm as ever, jumped into the air, completely avoiding Naruto's attack. Naruto, in turn, missed and lost balance due to the momentum of the kick, once again falling to the ground.

"Come on," said Minato. "Is that really all the three of you have? After all those fights you've gotten in, this is all you've learned? I'm surprised you actually beat anyone in those brawls! I'm sure some of the other kids in the village could land at least _one_ strike on me!"

_They're just running around throwing punches and kicks like all the other immature brats in the village. It's nothing a shinobi would be proud of. If they can't think of anything more creative than that circle maneuver…_

This time, Lee took another shot, sprinting towards Minato while his back was turned. He had slowly edged away after Minato threw Tenten at them, until he was out of sight. As long as Minato couldn't see him coming, he couldn't block, right?

Well, apparently he could.

Lee lunged into the air, taking the position of a flying jump kick. Minato simply twisted around and caught his leg. "I don't have to see you to know you're coming," he said.

Minato, his grip tight around Lee's calf, thrust the black haired boy up above him, using Lee's own momentum against him. He then caught him once again in a bear hug around the chest. However, Lee realized, his hand was still in a fist, causing Lee to literally fall into a punch.

"You're not giving it your all, are you, Lee?" Minato said quietly and calmly, as if he wasn't really paying attention to what was going on. It almost seemed as if he was daydreaming in the middle of all of this.

Nevertheless, Lee was unable to think anymore of the matter, as the blow to his chest caused an intense amount of pain that rendered him unable to move, or to struggle out of Minato's grip.

Naruto and Tenten had now gotten back up and watched as Lee was captured. Now what?

"Well?" Minato asked. Both grimaced at the disappointed and expectant tone in his voice.

As if the "Way of the Schoolyard Fist" would not end, Tenten ran at him again. This was getting a tad repetitive, Minato thought. Perhaps it was time to end it and see what the last two of the group would do if the main three brawlers were all incapacitated. He was getting a tad bit bored.

Minato easily caught Tenten's fist in his own, applying pressure. The girl grimaced in pain under his tightening grip, until he pulled her closer towards him. In a swift motion, Minato twisted both his arm and hers around and, her fist still in his own, caught her from behind by the sleeve of her shirt. Tenten would have fallen to her knees, her elbow twisting painfully around her back, if Minato wasn't keeping her off the ground. His arm wasn't long enough to hold her and let her fall to the ground, and he didn't feel like bending down.

"Gah…dammit," said Naruto. The entire time, Minato's eyes had remained fixed on him. Not once had he looked to see if Lee or Tenten made an unexpected counterattack.

Minato raised his eyebrow, waiting for Naruto to make his move.

_Right now…_ Naruto thought to himself, _right now he's using both of his arms… If I attack him, he can't block without letting go of one of the others. That'll do something at least, won't it? Alright!_

"Here I come!" He yelled, bursting forward as explosively as he could. He raised his fist, putting as much power as he could muster into this punch. Naruto sped towards him, his fist targeting Minato's upper chest. Once he was close enough, he flew forward, and…and…

Minato brought down his chin in a powerful and quick motion, breaking open Naruto's fist and catching it between his chin and his chest. "Huh…Hwah!" Minato kneed the inside of Naruto's elbow, only then letting go of his fist, and then extended his leg into a powerful kick to Naruto's chest. Before Naruto could fall backward, Minato caught his ankle with his own and somehow managed to spin him around so that he would fall forward onto his face.

Once Naruto's face had made a successful meeting with the ground, Minato casually stepped on his back with one foot. "That's all three of you…" Minato said. "Not only did you all fail to land a hit on me, but you all got captured easily. And what's more is, not one of you even attempted to go after the bells instead of just trying to hit me. My, my. A simple feint and some teamwork could possibly have given you the chance to grab at least some of the bells, which was the whole point. Honestly, it's kind of disappointing that you three couldn't come up with anything more creative…"

"It's not fair…" Naruto said, his face still in the dirt. "You're too big and strong."

"Strategy and teamwork can almost always overcome a difference in skill and power. Speaking of which… Let's see what the _smarter_ two of the group can come up with, now that all of my limbs are busy doing something."

Minato casually turned his head to look at said children, but found, to his surprise, that both were gone.

_What? When did they…?_

Xxxxx

Sakura was definitely no Naruto. She didn't enjoy fighting and getting dirty. She was a girl, after all!

She couldn't understand why Minato was making them do this! It wasn't like anyone in the village had threatened any of them, and if something did happen, he could protect them, couldn't he? After all, watching from behind the boulder she'd hidden at, he had beaten Naruto, Tenten, and Lee without even breaking a sweat, or, for that matter, moving more than three feet away from where he had been standing! There was no hope to this messed up exercise, beating Minato was as farfetched as running laps around the entire Fire Country!

So for the time being, Sakura was determined to just hide until the others gave up or Minato canceled the exercise. She didn't want to have to fight, and even if she did, she would probably just end up making a fool of herself.

"Psst, Sakura…" She gasped, her eyes widening. Looking up above her head, she found Minato squatted down on the boulder, staring at her from above. "Hiding isn't part of the exercise," he said.

She sat in place, frozen. What did she do now?

Minato sighed, and poked her forehead. _Geez…_ he thought. _What do I do with you?_

Xxxxx

Shikamaru sat cross-legged, his back to a tree. He was staring at a break in the tree branches above, where the sky was visible.

_The clouds are nice today… They're so free…_

It wasn't that he was scared to fight Minato… He just didn't feel like bothering. He'd watched as Naruto, Lee, and Tenten went at Minato and got their asses kicked. He didn't feel like following them into a pointless fight. They couldn't beat Minato, not with the gigantic difference in skill and strength. There wasn't any reason in going into a fight that they couldn't succeed in. If they ever ran into this kind of situation in real life, Shikamaru thought, they would probably have a better shot at "survival" by surrendering. However, seeing as Minato was probably not going to be content with him just giving up…

Shikamaru had had no choice but to disappear and stay out of the way. Hopefully they wouldn't bother looking for him and just go on with the fight themselves. He was sure that Naruto, Lee, and Tenten wouldn't give up easily, even if they had no chance. Even if they _knew_ they had no shot, he was sure that Naruto especially wouldn't give up unless forced to. He'd have plenty of time to stare at the clouds while he waited for them to fight it out. That was, unless he was underestimating Minato's ability to beat up little children.

Shikamaru sighed. He knew Minato was probably relying on him to pull the others to victory. He was smart enough to know that beating Minato was only possible with proper planning.

Well, either he was smart enough to know that or he had just heard Minato suggesting the idea for a simple plan to the others instead of just running straight at him and attacking. Shikamaru wasn't sure; he was too lazy to remember what he had been thinking about a few minutes ago.

In any case, this was definitely no game of Shogi. For one, they had an unequal number of "pieces". After all, Minato alone definitely counted as at least ten Queens, while each of them was a pawn. This was an unfair battle, and there was no way to use their individual skills together to defeat a common enemy. The reason for that was, well…

None of them really had any individual skills.

Besides, Shikamaru wasn't in the mood for a fight right now. Well, he never was, but now was particularly a bad time. He had been thinking about what Minato had said before. Shikamaru's personal hobby was, as everyone knew, playing Shogi. But regardless, he also enjoyed figuring out other logic puzzles and such, among other things. And right now, he had something quite interesting on his mind, thinking back to Minato's speech earlier regarding the point of the exercise. He really wanted to know what—

_Oh no..._ He was sure he had just heard something… Deciding not to risk it, Shikamaru took off. Barely a second after he left, Minato appeared among the trees.

"I'm sure he was here just now…" he said. _Is he really that good at running away…?_ He asked himself, a sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head.

Xxxxx

"Geez, this fight is practically impossible to win…" said Naruto.

"Just be glad he didn't go all out on us," muttered Tenten.

Currently, the four of them, Naruto, Tenten, Lee, and Sakura were all lying in the clearing. Naruto was still lying exactly where Minato had left him, although his face was no longer stuck in the dirt. Tenten lay on her back, resting after the brutal defeat, yet disappointed in her overall performance. She didn't think they would be _that_ weak compared to Minato!

"What makes you think he wasn't trying his hardest?" Asked Lee. He had been the only one to sit up, as the others were all lying around. Sakura had yet to say anything.

"Well, he barely moved, and he didn't even seem like he was paying attention," Tenten answered."

"And we _still_ got our asses kicked," added Naruto.

Lee looked off towards the woods, in the direction Minato had gone. "Shikamaru is the only one who has yet to fight… But he is also the only one who has yet to lose! We should cheer him on!"

"Please, like Shikamaru's gonna do anything," said Tenten.

"Pfeh, knowing Shikamaru, he's probably just gonna keep running away and hiding as long as he can, until Minato finally catches him," said Naruto. "Then he'll just say he gives up or something. He'll never actually lift a finger to fight."

"You have no hope in him…"

"Naruto's right," said Tenten. "Shikamaru's too lazy to do anything. All he wants to do is stare at clouds and play Shogi. You can't deny that that's the truth."

"I… I suppose it is true…"

It was quiet for a moment, as they all pondered how long it would be before Shikamaru was caught.

"Heh, what's with all of you guys copying me all of a sudden?" Said a voice.

They all looked towards the source of the voice. Speak of the devil! Shikamaru himself was walking out of the woods towards where they all lay.

"Minato caught you already?" Asked Naruto.

"Nope. I just figured that once he knew I was hiding away in the woods, he'd keep on looking for me there. So the safest place to hide would be, well…here."

"Heh…that's just like you."

"I never said it wasn't."

Suddenly, the eyes of all four lying in the grass widened. "Hm? What's wrong with you guys…?" Asked Shikamaru, when suddenly, he felt a hand patting his head. Shikamaru winced, as Minato leaned on him.

"Shikamaru, you've got to be the laziest kid I've ever met. Running away is one thing… Trying to trick me so you can come out here to watch the clouds again, though… Man, what am I supposed to do with someone like you?"

Sighing, Minato eased off of Shikamaru's head and walked forward to face all the others. "Three who can't fight without thinking… One who refuses to fight… and one who's too lazy to even bother trying… You guys are really disappointing, seriously. Well, I guess that's it for today. No point in trying to force this exercise farther than it's capable of going. You all go home and get washed up."

Naruto, Lee, Tenten, and Sakura all got up slowly, some annoyed and some relieved. They, along with Shikamaru, began walking back towards the village when suddenly they all found themselves caught and tied up in ropes.

"Please," said Minato, chuckling. "You thought I was joking with my rules? Not one of you managed to secure a bell… So all five of you will be tied to trees and get no lunch, while I eat all five bentos right in front of your faces."

"No fair!" Yelled Naruto. "I object! Minato, you suck!"

Xxxxx

Despite Naruto's call for fairness and equality, Minato stuck to his word. All five kids spent their afternoon tied to trees, watching as Minato consumed all of their food. And even worse, he drew everything out and made a real show of enjoying it all.

Later on, Minato was back in the bar with Sagisu, reporting on the results of the exercise.

"So, how'd they do?" Asked the retired shinobi as Minato sat down. Minato just shook his head in response.

"That bad, huh?"

"Uh huh." Minato proceeded to giving Sagisu the play by play of the entire exercise. "On the surface, you'd think that Naruto, Lee, and Tenten did well enough on their own… After all, they did all attack me with the full intent of causing harm. Tenten and Lee even tried a few simple tactics… and Naruto seemingly realized the advantage of me having both my arms busy and open for attack."

Sagisu nodded to show that he was following.

"However, none of them considered any kind of strategy that would allow them to steal the bells. They all forgot what the actual task was and only focused on attacking and defeating me. They didn't take the training seriously, all they wanted to do was prove themselves in a schoolyard brawl. They showed no signs of even attempting to think like a shinobi. Honestly… they didn't seem to show any potential."

"And the other two are self-explanatory, I take it?"

"Pretty much. It's not hard to see. Sakura's your average eight year old girl. She likes flowers, love, and the like. Fighting is definitely not on her list of hobbies. Not to mention, she froze up at the idea of fighting. I'm surprised she even managed to hide instead of just staying where she was and watching the others get beat up. I honestly was hoping she'd follow in Tenten's footsteps, somewhat… I mean, she has some potential if she could toughen up. She's smart. And sometimes, she does seem to let out some aggression when she…when she shows her angry side. Who knows, maybe in the future she'll have more hope."

"Right..."

"And then there's Shikamaru. No matter how many times I see it, he always astounds me with his tactical and reasoning skills. I could barely beat him in Shogi if I tried my hardest. That kid's gifted, but… he has the energy of an old man. It's like he doesn't want to do anything with his life except play Shogi and stare at clouds."

"Does he realize there's more to life than board games and clumps of condensed water vapor?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's aware that he'll eventually have to do something more with life, if only just to get by. I was hoping that if I introduced him to the thought of fighting and survival, he could be interested enough to at least try. Since he's not a registered shinobi in a Hidden Village, he won't have any missions or anything but…he seems to lack complete motivation. I suppose even if I did teach him, he'd never train. He would never improve. It's a shame, honestly, to see that the Nara bloodline may never be succeeded simply because its heir was too lazy to bother."

"You can't forget, though, that its heir is also completely unaware that he's a member of a shinobi clan."

"I guess that's true. But it doesn't change anything. I doubt it would make him any less lazy to know that his father was an elite Konoha Jounin."

"Mm. Well, Minato, looks like you've got your answer. Those kids' future is in village life and farming."

"…"

Inwardly, Minato had to admit that despite being afraid of them adopting the ninja arts, he was earnestly disappointed.

Xxxxx

"Eh, what happened to you, Tenten-chan?!"

"Oh, um… I kind've…fought Minato."

"WHAT?!"

Sakura and Tenten were once again visiting Tori. Except today, Tenten had been unusually covered in many bruises, which had sparked Tori's curiosity. The young woman had suspected that perhaps Tenten had gotten into a fight protecting one of her siblings again, but…this?

This had to be a joke.

"What do you mean, you were fighting Minato? Like an argument?" Was he…beating her?

"No, like an actual fight! All of us fought him! Well, not so much Sakura or Shikamaru… But me, Lee, and Naruto! And he beat us badly, too."

"What?! What…why were fighting your own father?!"

"It was training. Some sort of survival exercise. He said we failed, and we were disappointing. I didn't think we would do that bad… But he was just so strong, it was unfair!"

"What?! Survival…exercise? That's insane! You're so young! What is he doing teaching you to fight! And against himself, too! I've got to do something about it…"

"What? No! I want to beat him next time! I… I have to redeem myself! We lost so horribly…!"

"W-what? You…you actually…want to fight him…again?"

"Yeah, duh!"

A rather fiery spirit had seemed to ignite within Tenten, which, needless to say, freaked out Tori pretty well.

_I suppose I'll never understand that man OR his children…_

Xxxxx

Ticihimaru the vegetable vender was having a pleasant morning, selling his wares to the passerby of Satowa. Needless to say, he was enjoying the quiet, peaceful morning when suddenly a blond blurr flew past him in what seemed to be a rush.

"Tch… Naruto! You better get back—wait…" he paused, looking around. For once, it seemed almost as if that leacherous boy hadn't actually done anything wrong. If that was so, then why was he…?

His thoughts were interrupted when another blurr suddenly ran by. "If Naruto can complete this course at this pace, then I can too! In fact, I will do it twice as many times as he can!"

Tichimaru stared after Lee as he ran off, following Naruto in a strangely controlled run. They were…running? Not from Minato or angry vendors, but for training?

Tichimaru scratched his head in confusion. _What's happened to change them all of a sudden…?_

Xxxxx

_How troublesome… If that's how it is, then maybe I should have tried in that survival exercise after all…_

Shikamaru was currently lying in the same clearing where the survival practice had taken place just the day before. After giving it some long, hard thought, he had finally figured out what had been bothering him. The reason for what Minato had said the day before. That one statement that irked him all this time…

Now he understood

_Why do things have to be so troublesome…? Although, this opens some doors, I guess. Some things I've always wondered… Maybe now I can find out some more._

Nevertheless, the knowledge he was now facing did mean some things would have to be done. He knew now he would have to become stronger, if he was right about what it could mean.

_Man… Guess I should start listening to Minato, then. But I don't really want to…_

He already knew. Training was going to drive him insane.

A sudden sound interrupted his thoughts. Shikamaru cocked his head, spotting a group of bushes in the direction where the noise had come from. It _had_ sounded like a rustle in the bushes… What could it be?

Curious, Shikamaru managed to stand up and walk over. He began to pull apart the bushes so he could make his way through, careful not to cut his hands on thorns. When he got through, he swore.

"W-what the hell?!"

In the grass lay a young boy, probably about his own age. He had black hair and somewhat pale skin, which almost looked as if something had had happened to him that spooked the living daylights out of him. Or at least, the darker pigments in his skin.

But, more importantly…

He was unconscious.

* * *

Author's Notes:

This was probably...the most boring and plot-irrelevant chapter of the story. However, I felt it was needed to properly introduce the main characters, show them growing up, and basically just get you used to them and their personalities. If the protagonit(s) of a story isn't/aren't characterized well or enough before the plot really starts to move, then I feel like something would be missing from the story. So my apologies if this chapter was boring. Hopefully, the next few chapters won't be as slow or uninterestining. I can promise, however, that the plot of Part I will be fully prepared and underway as of chapter 6 or 7. So please hold out for a few more weeks until the story begins to unfold.

Anyways, if anyone's wondering what I spent all the time between now and when I started the story doing...well, I basically spent all my time rewatching the entirety of Part I Naruto. Originally, it was for the sake of this story so that I can freshen my memory and knowledge of the Naruto world and story. But watching everything again was actually really nice and fun and reminded me of a lot of things. It's actually helped me with characterization and several plot points. I meant to watch Shippuden through for the first time (never watched it, just read Part II Manga) but I got too lazy and drifted off to writing this. My only complaint about rewatching the anime was that some parts were painfully slow and dragged out... I almost considered going to the manga instead, but I love the soundtrack; it's the only reason I didn't jump ship.

Speaking of which, the Naruto Soundtrack is surprisingly helpful in writing. It actually really helps set the tone and atmosphere of some scenes, and even helps with the creative process of writing battle scenes and coming up with plot. Surprisingly inspirational.

Well... As will always be, critiquing, suggestions, etc... are always welcome. I always like to know what readers think of my writing and how it can improve or is best about it (so, as Kishimoto has well taught us through Naruto, I can make it as good as I can by honing it's best attributes). Any questions regarding the story can be asked in a review or a PM; I'll respond depending on the method of asking you choose.

Lastly: Please review! If anything inspires me to write more than the soundtrack, it's reviews!

(For the record, if it means anything: the longer the review, the more I enjoy it, and the more it propels me towards finishing the next chapter!)


	3. Sasuke

_**Outsiders**_

_3 - Sasuke_

* * *

"Really, you two…"

Minato looked on, not sure what to feel. Sitting next to him on a park bench, eating ramen, were Naruto and Lee. Both were covered in bruises and, despite stuffing themselves with food, panting harder than he'd ever seen them do before.

As their story was, they had apparently spent the entire morning "training". This training had consisted of nonstop running across the village, sparring with one another, and a multitude of the strangest and most creative exercises Minato had ever heard of. Not that any of them sounded particularly effective.

On one hand, they were hurting their bodies on a fruitless endeavor. On the other, however, it showed that they did in fact have the determination to improve and become stronger. It seemed as if Minato's survival test had sparked some sort of fire within them that urged them to improve their abilities, though for what purpose Minato was not sure. They certainly did not have the life of a shinobi in mind when thinking about getting stronger.

"You know," he said, "you won't get anywhere if you start off with too much work. You have to do it gradually, or else your bodies will eventually give out and you'll give up."

"Are you kidding?!" Answered Naruto. "That was nothing!" Even as he said it, he was struggling to lift his arms enough to eat his ramen. Lee nodded in agreement, his mouth too full to speak.

"Yeah, well…" Minato drifted off, thinking of the next thing he had intended to say, when he noticed out of the corner of his eye a rather rare sight.

He turned his head to see Shikamaru walking towards them, and at an uncharacteristically quick pace. Naruto and Lee followed his gaze and actually gasped at the sight.

"Shikamaru?" He asked. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but part of him hoped that this was merely the showing of a change within the boy. Perhaps he had ignited a spark within the lazy Nara as well?

But Shikamaru's expression said otherwise. There was clear uneasiness etched across his face.

"What is it?" Minato asked.

"Uh…There's something I think you should see…"

"Hmm?"

Several minutes later, the four of them had arrived back at the clearing used for the survival test. Minato looked around, but spotted nothing. He looked to Shikamaru to point out whatever it was he was supposed to see.

"Over here," the lazy boy murmured, leading them towards a bush. Wondering what it could be, Minato strolled over and watched as Shikamaru pushed away the bushes.

His eyes widened at the sight he had found. He had expected something interesting, perhaps childish, or just some sort of rare phenomenon…

But he certainly didn't think Shikamaru had found an unconscious boy in the woods.

"What is it?" Asked Naruto from behind. He and Lee pushed around Minato and into the bushes to get a look. Lee gasped.

"W-what the…"

"Who is he?" Asked Lee.

Minato shook his head, unable to answer the question, and looked at Shikamaru, who shrugged.

"I don't know. I just found him lying here and went to find you immediately after."

Minato stepped forward and bent down, checking the boy's pulse. "He's alive…" he said. "I can't say for sure what's wrong with him. I guess we'll take him home and take care of him. We'll find out who he is once he's woken up."

Squatting down, Minato picked the boy up with both arms, flipping him over so he could +carry the boy on his back. When he spun the boy around, Minato assumed that shock had become visible on his face, because the other three were looking at him strangely. But this…

This couldn't be.

Could it?

Xxxxx

Holding a bucket of cold water, Minato entered the room in which he had left the unconscious boy. Sakura was with him, and immediately took the bucket Minato had brought to wet the towel on his forehead.

"How is he?" He asked her.

"He hasn't changed. Are you sure we shouldn't just wake him up?"

"Yes. He's not injured, except for that cut on his cheek, and he doesn't seem to have too large a fever. The wet towel will cool him down. Once the fever's gone, it shouldn't be too long before he wakes up."

"So nothing's wrong with him?"

"I wouldn't say that. It seems like he got sick, probably from being outside. He was probably far from home and not used to the terrain. It wouldn't be too difficult to catch something in those conditions."

Sakura nodded, indicating that she understood.

"Over here!"

Minato turned to see Naruto and Tenten leading Sagisu through the house towards that room. The ex-shinobi frowned at the sight.

"They said it was important…but it looks like one of them just beat up some kid or something. You called me over for this, Minato?"

Minato shook his head. "Shikamaru found him out in the woods this morning. He's been unconscious the entire time and has a mild fever."

"So what do you need me for?"

Minato paused before speaking again. Then, he said, "Naruto, Sakura, Tenten, the there of you can leave. Go find Lee and Shikamaru and make yourselves some food. Or better yet, go out and buy some. You know where the money is."

"But I want to stay!" Said Sakura.

"Go." Was all Minato said. His voice was serious and dark, easily scaring Sakura into submission. She nodded and followed the other two out, although they were of a similar attitude.

Once they were gone, Sagisu looked at him. "So what is it?"

Minato strolled over to the other side of the room and picked up a dark, cloth object. "We've been taking care of him since we found him and brought him here… But his condition isn't what's bothering me. When we found him…he was wearing _this_."

It appeared to be a ball, red on the top and white on the bottom, with a white line protruding from the bottom. It was a fan.

"T-that's…" Sagisu stuttered.

"The Crest of the Uchiha Clan," Minato finished for him.

"The Uchiha are touchy about clan pride… They wouldn't allow anyone but an Uchiha to wear that. If that's so…then what's one of them doing all the way out here? And one so young… He can't be any older than your kids."

"I know. And I can't say why he's here, let alone why he's unconscious. He has a deep cut on his cheek; I'm almost positive it's from a shuriken."

"D-damn…what could this mean?"

"I don't know. The only way to find out would be to wait for him to wake up."

"Did he have anything else on him?"

Minato nodded. "There was this," he said, holding up a pouch. Opening it, he showed Sagisu several kunai and shuriken. "It's definitely not a standard shinobi shuriken holster, or anything similar… If anything, I'd say it's something I'd expect to belong to an Academy student."

"Well, he's certainly old enough to be one, from the looks of it. So he's an Academy student…? And an Uchiha, so of course he's from Konoha. Did something happen?"

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Nngh…" Minato and Sagisu both looked at the boy. He seemed to be waking up. There was a look of discomfort on his face, but his body shifted a bit and he seemingly calm down. A moment later, he opened his eyes.

Coal black. Undoubtedly, this boy was an Uchiha.

The boy was looking around, observing his surroundings. Minato watched his eyes move back and forth. Sagisu, meanwhile, found himself a chair and sat down.

"It's okay," Minato said, attracting the boy's attention. "We found you unconscious in the woods. We're taking care of you for now."

The boy's eyes left him alone, choosing instead to stare at the ceiling above. "You have a slight fever," Minato continued, "but it seems to be dying down."

The boy pulled his hand out from under the blanket covering him and touched the cloth on his forehead, before pulling it off. Minato walked over and squatted down next to him.

"You're not well yet. You should go back to sleep." The boy's eyes continued to avoid his.

Sighing, Minato introduced himself. "My name's Minato, by the way. And that there is Sagisu."

The boy glanced at each, before staring back at the ceiling. "Sasuke," he said. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Xxxxx

Uchiha Sasuke had returned to sleep and, for the next several hours, continued to do so. Minato did his best to keep the orphans away from him, hoping to give the boy some privacy. After he had fallen asleep, Minato and Sagisu had talked, and both agreed that there was something off about him. He was unnaturally quiet and couldn't seem to look at them for too long. Something bad had obviously happened to him recently.

He continued to sleep through the evening as well. About halfway through the night, while the others were all asleep, Minato and Sagisu, who had remained to help look after both Sasuke and kids, as well as to sate his own curiosity, were continuing to speculate on what had happened to Sasuke, when at last he awoke again. Minato and Sagisu both picked up the sound of moving around in his room. After a few minutes of privacy, they decided to go in and see how he was doing.

The boy was sitting on the edge of the bed they had provided him with, looking as melancholy as before. At sound of their entering the room, he looked up. He had once again donned his Uchiha shirt.

"Feeling any better?" Minato asked. Sasuke nodded in response. "Good."

He and Sagisu both found themselves seats and watched him. Eventually, Sasuke spoke.

"Where…where is this?"

"We're in a village called Satowa," said Sagisu, "It's in the south of Fire Country."

"It's a good long distance from Konoha," said Minato, watching intently as Sasuke suddenly became more attentive.

"Listen," he said… "we know who the Uchiha are. We know how famous and powerful your clan is. But why are you so far out here? And nobody's come looking for you, so I'm inclined to think that you were alone. So why are you all the way out here instead of Konoha?"

Sasuke took his time answering. "I had to leave…" He said. "I had to escape…"

"Escape from Konoha?" Sagisu asked. "Why?"

Sasuke's chin was quivering, but altogether he remained composed.

"Sasuke?" Minato said. "Did something happen to Konoha?"

"Was the village attacked?" Sagisu asked hastily.

Sasuke shook his head. "No…" he said. "Not…not from the outside…"

_What does he mean from the outside…?_

"You mean to say…" Minato began, "Konoha was attacked from the inside? A rebellion? A coup?"

"…No. Not Konoha," he said. Sasuke pulled back onto the bed and hugged his knees. "Only…the Uchiha Clan."

Minato's eyes narrowed. He exchanged a brief glance with Sagisu before continuing.

"What happened?" He felt bad for asking the kid so much, but they needed to know. If something had happened to the Uchiha, then something had definitely happened to Konoha. They were too large and too powerful for nothing to have happened.

Sasuke seemed to have trouble speaking, but somehow he managed to force it out.

"Everyone…everyone was killed…"

"Everyone…" Minato said, his voice dark, "as in the entire Uchiha clan?"

Sasuke nodded.

Shock was written across Sagisu's voice, and Minato was sure it was probably etched across his own as well. What this kid was telling them…it was unheard of. Possibly the most powerful, the most famous clan in the entire world had been eradicated?

"Who…who did it? Do you know?"

Sasuke nodded. "It was…" He seemed to be biting back tears. Minato grimaced at how hard the boy was fighting against displaying his emotions.

"…my brother," he finished.

Minato's eyes widened. The boy's own…brother?

"…Uchiha Itachi," he added.

He felt an immense feeling of pity for the boy envelope him suddenly. No wonder he was so quiet, and had such trouble speaking… And of course, it explained why he had avoided their gaze so much earlier. Not only emotionally, but he had to be broken mentally as well. For his own sibling to eradicate his entire world… It was a horrible thought.

"Minato…" muttered Sagisu. Minato gave him his attention. "Do you remember what I told you about the Uchiha who graduated the Academy at the age of seven? The one who mastered the Sharingan at eight, and became a Chunin at ten…"

Minato nodded, but noticed out of the corner of his eye how Sasuke recoiled, listening to Sagisu's description. He knew what the ex-shinobi was about to say.

"His name was Uchiha Itachi."

Minato nodded. He sighed, and looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke…" he said, "I appreciate you telling us all that. I know it must have been difficult." Sasuke said nothing in return. "I think…we'll leave you to yourself for a little while. Perhaps you should get back to sleep. It's the middle of the night."

Sasuke showed little indication that he had been listening, but Minato was pretty sure he heard. "Sagisu, let's go." Sagisu nodded and followed him out of the room.

They walked out of the house and took a seat outside the door.

"What do you make of this?" He asked Sagisu.

"Well, for one… I can't stop feeling sorry for that kid. It's not uncommon for shinobi to suffer, and death of loved ones is definitely a part of that. But at such a young age…and he's not even an actual shinobi yet…"

"Yeah."

"And it's also a shame. That Konoha would lose such a powerful clan, all in one night…it's going to damage Konoha plenty. It's also a shame that such a powerful person, who can massacre a clan like the Uchiha, would be so corrupted…"

Minato nodded in agreement. _I wonder, how will Orochimaru handle it?_

"I want to know more," he answered. "There's got to be more to it. How did Konoha handle the situation? Are they hunting down Uchiha Itachi? Are they even looking for Sasuke?"

"I'm not so sure how much that kid is going to be willing to tell us, though."

"I'll get it out of him eventually."

"Right. Well, I've had enough excitement for one day. I'll be off. Let me know if anything happens, or if you need me for anything."

"Will do."

With that, Sagisu returned home and Minato decided that perhaps he as well should get some sleep.

Xxxxx

The next morning, Minato found three of the kids were awake rather early. Sakura, Lee, and Tenten were all up barely any later than him. Lee quickly fixed himself some breakfast so he could go out and train, while Sakura and Tenten took their time. Surprisingly, it was awhile before anyone mentioned Sasuke, and even then it was he himself.

"Ehh, Minato, since when do you eat such a small meal?" Asked Tenten.

"It's not for me," he answered bluntly.

"Huh? Then who… Oh! Is that boy awake?!"

Sakura now became more attentive, intent on finding out the fate of the boy she had helped to take care of. Minato nodded.

"He woke up yesterday, twice. Once during the afternoon and once in the middle of the night. His name is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Sasuke…" said Sakura. "It's a pretty name."

"So did he say anything?" Asked Tenten.

"Not much," Minato lied. "I'm going to check on him now. I would suggest that you guys give him some privacy for a few days. Make sure the others know."

Tenten nodded and Sakura looked just a bit dismayed at not being able to meet Sasuke yet.

Minato, meanwhile, carried the meal he had prepared to Sasuke's room. To his surprise, he found the boy already awake.

"I see you've got more energy than before," he said, closing the door behind him. Sasuke met his gaze and nodded. "I made you some breakfast. You should eat."

"Thanks," Sasuke said, graciously taking the tray of food and wasting no time filling himself up.

_Seems like he's more willing to talk now,_ Minato mused.

Minato sat quietly as Sasuke wolfed down the food. About halfway through, the boy spoke up.

"What was your name again?" He asked.

"Minato."

"Then, Minato…are you from Konoha?"

"Hm? Why would you ask that?"

"It's just that…you and that other guy seem to know a lot about shinobi… You don't seem like you're just normal villagers. Are you?"

Minato shook his head. "We're both former shinobi from Konoha."

Sasuke nodded. "Why did you come here then?" He asked.

"Well, Sagisu fought through the entirety of the Third Great Shinobi War, from start to finish. After it ended…he decided he just wanted some peace and quiet for the rest of his life, so he came here. I'm here taking care of some kids that I promised to look after… But I suppose I got a little sick of the shinobi life as well. It's been nice to have a break, anyway."

"I see. What about those kids?"

"How did you know about them?" Minato asked, not expecting Sasuke to have noticed their existence already.

"I could hear them through my door. And in my sleep, too, I think. One of their voices sounded a little familiar."

"I see. Well…" he wasn't sure where to go with this. He didn't want anyone knowing those kids were from Konoha, even themselves. "No, they're not. I came through this village once, and I owed a favor to some of the villagers. These kids' parents were killed though, so I'm making it up by taking care of them and raising them."

Sasuke nodded again, as he continued eating. There was a somewhat awkward silence as he finished his meal. At last, when he chewed down his last bite, Minato spoke his mind.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, Sasuke," he said, "but I have to ask you for a few more answers." Sasuke stiffened, his gaze drifting downward. "I need you to tell me…exactly what happened that night. I'm sorry, but it's important."

A moment passed, before Sasuke nodded. "O-okay…"

Several minutes later, Minato stared at the ground, feeling pity for Sasuke once more. It was one thing to hear about the incident…but the story itself was…it was nothing short of horrific. The boy had lived through a nightmare. It was a wonder he was still sane.

After all… to murder one's whole clan, simply for the purpose of measuring one's own capacity? And to spare his little brother only because of how "pathetic" he was, as if the only reason to spare him was to torment him. This Uchiha Itachi was clearly wrong in the head.

"So…" he said, "what happened to Itachi? He ran away?"

"No," Sasuke said, surprising Minato. "He…he told the Hokage that it was someone else… that he tried to stop them, but he was too late. And that they cast an illusion on me to make me think it was Itachi, as a way to frame him… And the Hokage, and everyone else…they bought that story. They believed him. They were going to make him Clan Leader, even though he didn't have a clan…except for me."

"I see…so that's why you ran away."

"Yes."

Another moment of silence passed. "Well, Sasuke. Once again, I really appreciate you telling me all this. If you'd like…you can stay with us. We have plenty of food, we have space, and we have a home… And I think you'll get along fine with the others. What do you say?"

Sasuke seemed to think about it for a while. Finally, he said, "Alright."

"Good," said Minato. "Maybe later you can meet the other five."

Minato now stood up and made his way to the door. As he opened it, he found a strange amount of resistance that disappeared as suddenly as he realized it was there. When he opened the door all the way, he saw pink hair flying away as Sakura turned the corner.

_Odd…_ he thought.

Xxxxx

For the next few days, Sasuke continued to keep mostly to himself. Every once in a while, he would come out and talk, but for the most part he just slept and ate. Minato introduced him to the other kids gradually, all of whom seemed to take a liking to him.

Minato had forbade him to mention any knowledge he had of Minato's origin in Konoha, to which Sasuke complied, albeit confused as to why.

After a few days had passed, Minato noticed a slight change in Sasuke's behavior. He was more open and more confident-looking, as if he had suddenly become his normal self. Though, Minato reminded himself, he didn't know the real Sasuke. He could only guess at how normal the boy was acting.

Soon, Sasuke began to come out more and more often. It wasn't long before he was eating meals with the rest of them, and occasionally leaving the house. A few weeks after his original arrival, he left the house on his own to take a walk through the town, which he was still getting used to. Eventually, navigating the outskirts of the village, he came upon a small clearing, where he found nearly all of Minato's kids.

Naruto, Lee, and Tenten were performing exercises, whilst Shikamaru was lying around looking at the sky. The latter of the four immediately noticed Sasuke's arrival, but said nothing as he observed the rather rare occurrence of the Uchiha leaving the house. As he made his way across the clearing, the other three took notice of him.

"Finally decided to come out, eh?" Said the blonde one, Naruto. Even as he spoke, he was pushing himself hard on some pushups.

"It's good to see you out, Sasuke-kun," said Lee, who was also doing pushups. However, his legs were placed on Naruto's back, making his exercise all the more difficult.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, a bit quiet.

Tenten, who was doing sprints, came to a stop, and, panting, said, "What, did you come to train too? You could probably do well with some exercise, you've been sitting around doing nothing the last few weeks."

Sasuke shrugged; he supposed it wouldn't be too bad to train with them. It'd been nearly three weeks since the massacre, and he had yet to do any exercise, let alone practice his ninja skills. Before he had escaped Konoha, he had resolved to one day avenge the Uchiha Clan by killing Itachi. After the difficult travel down south, however, he had forgotten that resolve in the face of the possibility that he would die out in the wilderness. It had taken some time, but he had at last come to the conclusion that he would have to begin training again to accomplish his newfound goal.

He didn't know how much he could accomplish here though. This was just an ordinary village. Minato and Sagisu were shinobi, however. Perhaps they could help him train, as an alternative to training as a shinobi in Konoha. He knew it probably wouldn't be the same… but he couldn't go back to Konoha…not with _him_ there.

Besides, he liked the people here. Minato, Sagisu, and the other kids. He seemed oddly comfortable around them, for strangers.

"Hey, Naruto, let's spar," said Tenten.

"Yosh! Let's go!" Was the blonde's reply.

As the two began their fight, Lee stood and turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, would you be willing to spar with me?"

Sasuke nodded. He took a stance, and waited for Lee to make the first move. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shikamaru edging away, not at all intending to get trampled on.

As expected, Lee flew at him, his fist raised for a punch. Sasuke easily knocked it away, and swept Lee off his feet before thrusting his arms out to push the older boy back. Lee quickly recovered and came at him again, but Sasuke easily ducked under the punch and delivered his own assault, striking Lee first in the stomach, then in the chin, and then kicking him hard in the chest. The boy flew back, but Sasuke grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards him, using the momentum to heave him up over his own back. With a loud grunt and what power he could muster in his legs, he flipped over, and thrust Lee hard into the ground, landing in a lunge position.

"That…that was impressive…" Lee said, grimacing at the pain. Sasuke turned to see that Naruto and Tenten had stopped fighting to watch. Shikamaru's attention was also focused on him.

Was this really so strange? Well, he supposed since they were just village kids, they'd never witnessed a shinobi fighting, even if it was just an amateur academy student.

"You're…good…" stuttered Tenten.

"Pfeh, let me try!" Naruto yelled, immediately lunging at Sasuke. In retaliation, Sasuke burst forward and easily broke through Naruto's stance, punching him hard in the stomach. In a fluid motion, Sasuke delivered a spinning backward kick, followed by another midair kick from his other leg. Naruto, completely off balance, could do nothing as Sasuke once again burst forth and thrust two hard punches into his chest, sending the blonde flying backward into a tree.

"Ugh…that hurt," was all that Naruto said.

"Where did you learn how to do all that?" Asked Tenten.

"Er…at the Ninja Academy in Konoha."

"Ninja…Academy…?" She repeated. They all knew of the nine Hidden Villages; their existence was common knowledge.

"In that case, Sasuke-kun," said Lee, "you must be a shinobi!"

"Uh, no, I was still in the Academy. I wasn't anywhere near graduating yet."

"Y-you…you can do THAT and you didn't even graduate?!" Exclaimed Naruto. "Man, shinobi are so cool…"

"What else can you do?" Asked Tenten.

"Well, I'm good with shuriken, but mine are at the house…"

"R-really? I want to see…"

"I can also use a couple jutsu too…"

"Jutsu?" Asked Lee.

"Ninjutsu. Ninja techniques."

"Like what?"

A couple minutes later, they were gathered at the edge of a pond. Shikamaru, curious, had actually bothered to follow. The four stood back and watched as Sasuke took a deep breath while making strange symbols with his hands.

_What's he doing with his hands…?_ Thought Naruto.

After five symbols, Sasuke inhaled deeply, and pulled back.

"Katon: Gougakyuu no jutsu!"

A great, blazing fireball erupted from his mouth, overcastting the entire pond. The fireball lasted for several seconds before it dissipitated. Sasuke turned to see what the others thought.

All four were staring, eyes wide, at the embers still flying about.

"T-that…" said Naruto, "was awesome!"

Xxxxx

"Ninjutsu is fueled by a power source called chakra," explained Minato. "Chakra is the combination of physical and spiritual power, and it's trained by increased physical ability, mental capacity, and experience."

The five nodded, and Sasuke agreed with the explanation.

Minato had been somewhat surprised to find them asking him to teach them Ninjutsu. Perhaps he should have expected that sooner or later, Sasuke would show them some jutsu and they'd become excited at the prospect of shinobi abilities. But he hadn't been expecting them to so quickly conclude that he could teach them Ninjutsu. Apparently, Shikamaru had reasoned that both Minato and Sasuke fought similarly in the way that they were probably both trained as shinobi.

He couldn't say that he was happy with their reason for learning Ninjutsu, but they were kids. And who knew, perhaps he was wrong? Maybe they had some potential after all. He had no way of truly knowing until he taught them, and they seemed quite excited at the idea. And so, Minato had begun to explain to them the fundamentals of chakra and jutsu.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" Exclaimed Naruto. "Just show us a jutsu already!"

"Being a shinobi isn't all about jutsu! There's so much more to it. There's not only Ninjutsu, but also Taijutsu and Genjutsu…as well as weaponry. And you've got to be smart about your skills. It's not about how many jutsu you can use. It's about how efficiently you use every one particular skill in your arsenal. And you've also got to train yourself to increase chakra capacity…or else your jutsu won't last five seconds."

"And also," added Sasuke, "there's so many different kinds of jutsu. Medical jutsu, sealing jutsu, and a bunch of other shinobi skills. Stealth skills, tactics, discipline…"

"That's a lot…" Said Tenten.

"But I will master it nonetheless!" Yelled Lee, a fire igniting in his eyes.

"Geez, how troublesome…" Commented Shikamaru.

"Heh, bring it on. I can handle it, no matter what it is. I won't give up, not for anything!" Yelled Naruto.

"Is it really all that hard?" Asked Sakura.

"If you want to master the ninja ways, you'll have to work hard," he answered. "You'll have to train yourselves not only physically, but mentally as well. It'll be hard…and there will be times when you won't think you're cut out for it. If you fear the disappointment of failure, then quit now. Because as a teacher, I will refuse to hold back. You all got that? On the Path of the Shinobi…there is no try. There is only success, or death."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the wait. This was originally intended to be two separate chapters, titled Sasuke and The Path Of Shinobi, but I decided it would be better to combine and shorten them for the sake of getting through the introductory arc sooner. Speaking of which, after this, there's one more chapter, at the end of which the story starts to move. As in, the main conflict of Part I begins. Hopefully I'll get that done as soon as I can.

Please review! It helps to motivate me.


	4. The Years

_**Outsiders**_

4 – The Years

Xxxxx

Tori was merely putting up her 'OPEN' sign, when she heard sudden loud yelling from outside. She hurriedly looked outside to see what had happened, and quickly spotted the source of the commotion, as everyone else in the vicinity was watching as well.

A tall man held one of the Square's vendors by the neck, holding him up high for everyone to see. Beside him, another stood, his arms folded.

"Listen up!" Yelled the shorter one. "This town is now the domain of the Great Ishiteru! From this point forth, I am your lord!"

_What..?_

Even as "Ishiteru the Great" spoke, men were surrounding the entire square. _Bandits…shit._ Thought Tori.

"As your lord," continued Ishiteru, "I demand that you all pay a tax. My revenue collectors will be coming around to collect it momentarily. Do them a favor; pay your taxes, or soon you won't have any source of income and you'll be in _debt_ to your ruler! Boys!"

Tori felt a hand grasp her shoulder, and turned to find a large man had grabbed hold, a greedy grin plastered across his face.

"And this!" Continued Ishiteru, pointing at the poor vendor being held by the giant man. "Is an example of what may happen if you try to threaten the collectors!" The vendor was being choked, as the giant man began walking away. Ishiteru himself followed, cackling as the vendor's store was suddenly lit aflame.

Tori felt pain shoot up through her arm as her captor squeezed, pushing her back into her shop. Another followed, a sword at his side. "Right, lady, put it all right here," said her captor, holding open a large bag.

Tori, unsure of what to do, complied and opened her cash register. Slowly, she filled the bag, expecting the man to close it up and leave. But he kept waiting, and waiting, until there was no money left.

"That's all that's in there…" she said. The other bandit unsheathed his sword and stabbed it straight through the register.

"Come on now…" he said, "I'm sure you've got more in the back now, don't you? Or something else valuable.

"N-No! There's nothing! Please!"

"Hm…" he said studying the store's merchandise. "I'm sure some of these vases could sell for some decent money…" He picked up a large, clay container, covered in an intricate design of cuts. "Heh. I like this one. I should get some nice cash for it. Wat'chu think?"

"Take it, then," said the other, shrugging.

"P-please…don't take that," Tori begged." Take anything else, just not that!"

"Sounds even more valuable now. Why shouldn't I take it? The way you talk about it, it sounds like it's even more precious than I thought…"

"Please…just leave it. You can have ANYTHING else!"

"Anything…?" He repeated. Smirking, he said, "well, if you insist that I take anything I want…" He grabbed her arm and began pulling her out the door, motioning for the other bandit to follow. "How's about I just take you?"

Tears began to well up in Tori's eyes as she was dragged out the door by the snickering bandits. The bandit threw aside the clay container, and watched as it shattered into pieces, colliding with the ground. "You're worth more than that thing anyway…" He murmured. "Stupid piece of—ARGH!"

He was unable to complete his sentence before he felt a powerful, sharp pain shatter the back of his head. Tori saw the end of a large, bamboo stick twist around and slam into the man's stomach, effectively knocking him out between the two blows.

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are?!" Yelled the other bandit. "I'll burn down this store and your home for that, you hear! C'mere…"

Tori, who was now released, back away and looked on. "Hmph," said her rescuer. "You think you can get away, threatening Tori-san like that… It'll take more than just a few jabs to pay you back!"

The man burst into laughter, looking his enemy in the face for the first time. "You're just a little girl! You got lucky beating up Yukio like that, he didn't see it coming. But it'll take more than some little stick and some little bitch using it to hurt me!"

"B…bitch?! TAKE THAT BACK, YOU BASTARD!"

The bandit was seemingly unprepared for the oncoming onslaught. Tenten pole-vaulted into the air and pulled out several knives from her pocket, firing them simultaneously at the unexpecting man.

He easily sidestepped the assault, but found himself off-balance as Tenten used the momentum of her fall to kick him hard in the side. He half keeled over as she struck him in the stomach with her bostaff. With graceful technique, she delivered several more blows, striking him in the face, neck, and lastly…

"Gah!" The bandit fell forward, unable to stand the pain of a bostaff slamming into his unmentionables.

"That's what you get you bastard!" Tenten yelled. "You mess with Tori, you mess with me! You call me a bitch, you lose your manhood! And this!" She heaved her staff high in the hair and proceeded to slam down onto his head. "That's for breaking my vase!"

"Hm?" She turned to see several other men running in her direction. Apparently, she had identified herself as a threat. She prepared to meet them, when she realized that some of them veered in the direction of Tori's shop.

"Oh no!" Exclaimed Tori. "They're going to burn down the shop!"

"No way in hell I'll let them do that…" Said Tenten, but she could do nothing as three of the bandits came at her as a distraction. She quickly squatted down and burst forward, bostaff aimed forward. She struck one in the stomach, then lifted up her staff to keep another from slicing her with a katana. Holding onto the staff with one hand, she used her free one to pull two more knives from her pocket and stabbed the man with one of them, then fired the other around her back to keep the last attacker from coming near her.

"Dammit! Why won't it catch fire?!"

She turned to find that the bandits attempting to set the shop on fire were struggling to light aflame the air in front of them. The one with the torch was viciously stabbing the air, slicing it, doing anything he could, but nothing seemed to work.

Tenten smirked. "Nice, Sakura!" On a rooftop behind Tenten, sat Sakura, deep in concentration, her hands forming a seal. She quickly performed several more seals, before opening one eye to watch the scene.

"W-what is this?!" Yelled one of the men. "What's going on?!" To him, as well as all the others, it appeared as if the world was spinning around, quickening with every revolution, until it seemed to them as if they were trapped in the center of a tornado. One by one, they hit the floor, too dizzy to keep balance.

"I won't _ever_ let you burn down that shop… _Shannaro!_ She added, mentally.

Tenten glanced at the few remaining bandits in the vicinity, several of whom were edging away from the two girls. She hefted up her staff and twirled it around before slamming it down into the ground, end-first.

"THIS IS _OUR_ VILLAGE!" She yelled.

Xxxxx

"Heh, check it out man, that house looks pretty big. There's probably a shitload of valuable stuff inside…"

Several of Ishiteru's bandits had advanced outward to the suburbs of the village, searching for good homes to pilfer from. The "Revenue Collection" could be left up to the others.

"Hey, good find. Let's check it out." Said another.

"Excuse me," said a voice as they opened the gate to the property. They turned around to find a young boy staring them down, his body in some sort of stance. "But that is my home. I would appreciate it if you didn't step on my property."

One of the bandits laughed. "To hell with you kid! Jizu, take care of him! We'll look through the house!"

One of the men, Jizu, walked up to him, intending to grab him in a bearhug. In retaliation, he broke forward out of his stance and delivered a powerful punch to Jizu's stomach. "I'm willing to fight if I must…" said Lee. "If that's what the situation calls for."

He hefted Jizu up onto his back, then with little struggle, heaved him up into the air and threw him towards the other bandits.

"Damn. Kid's strong." Said one of the bandits.

Several more came after him, but Lee easily sidestepped their slow thrusts, and knocked away their punches. He jumped up into the air, flipping, and landed with his hand on one of the bandits' shoulder. As he fell down to his feet, Lee grabbed the man's ear and pulled as hard as he could, forcing a cry of intense pain to emanate from the bandit.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Lee landed and tripped the man, knocking him down.

"If you wish for worse, I'm certainly willing," he told the others. However, his eyes widened as he heard the sound of the felled bandit roaring behind him as he attempted to smash open Lee's head.

Lee, however, stood perfectly still, remaining calm as the pain failed to arrive. "W-what the hell…"

"Kagemane no jutsu… Success." Lee glanced at the nearby benches and found Shikamaru lazily sitting in one of them, his hands forming the required seal for his Shadow Imitation Technique. "Take them out, Lee."

Lee nodded. "Thanks, Shikamaru!" The black-haired boy immediately proceeded to beating the bandits, multiple at a time, until his superior physical abilities left them all in on the ground, groaning in pain. Lee himself stood in the center, retaining the same stance he had been in at the beginning.

Shikamaru looked on, amused at the ease with which Lee had defeated his enemies. "GOT YOU!" He heard from behind him, but he showed no hint of surprise. The surprise attacker who had snuck up on him found himself captured in Shikamaru's shadow. "I can capture more than one person at once," Shikamaru explained, bending his neck back so he could see the guy's face. "And I don't need to pay attention to my surroundings when I know you're going to try to pull such a simplistic trick."

The man's face struggled to grimace under the hold of Shikamaru's shadow. "Try better next time," Shikamaru said, as Lee pounced on him.

"This is _our_ village," Shikamaru said lazily, twisting around with his arm hanging behind the bench so he could see the now well-beaten bandit. "You mess with it, you mess with us."

Xxxxx

"What is it?" Asked Ishiteru. One of his men had arrived, panting hard.

"There's…there's resistance, sir. We're being beaten in several parts of the village."

"What?! Who? How?"

"I don't know. They looked like…they looked like kids! But…they couldn't be. Could they?"

Ishiteru grunted. The village couldn't have hired shinobi…he had just arrived this morning. Had they already had some here for some other purpose?

No…the villagers wouldn't be so willing to comply with their threats if they knew they had shinobi in the area. So how could it be that kids were beating up his men?

"Find out what's going on," he told the messenger. "If you come back not knowing what the hell is happening, then it'll be your head."

The messenger nodded and ran off. He knew just what Ishiteru had meant by "it'll be your head".

Ishiteru instead turned his attention on the vender that he had been collecting taxes from. "Do you know what's going?" He asked.

The man simply quivered in place, fear completely in control. Ishiteru grabbed him by the collar. "Answer me!"

"I…I don't know!" The vendor said.

"Oh, I'm sure you do. If anyone was capable of taking out as many men as I brought with me today… I'm sure they're presence or identity would be well known across the village. So tell me: Who. Is. It?!"

The man shook his head. "Perhaps Madomo can convince you to tell me." He let go of the man's collar and backed away. The giant man beside him, over seven feet tall and covered in muscles, grabbed the vendor by the neck and held him up in the air.

"Talk!" Yelled Ishiteru.

Suddenly, several object whizzed by, embedding themselves deep in Madomo's arm. The man grunted in pain, enough to release the vendor.

"So they're here, then," Ishiteru said. _Who is it?_

He turned to see a young boy, raven-haired and black-eyed, staring at him from a rooftop. His pose spoke of confidence, but Ishiteru merely smirked.

"So you're the one causing trouble then? Why don't come down here and fight us face to face, instead of playing around with your little toys."

_A real ninja probably would have cut off Madomo's arm with shuriken. This is just some kid playing hero._

"Hn," the boy side, looking passed Ishiteru.

_Hmm?_

He turned around, only to find a blonde blur shoot into him, tackling him to the ground. The new attacker immediately flew off and landed on the concrete ground, near his raven-haired companion.

"Is that face to face enough for you?" He asked.

Ishiteru got up, visibly irritated. "You little shit…how dare you? Madomo! Forget the vendor! Go after those two!"

The giant man nodded and took his place between Ishiteru and the boys.

"Naruto!" Yelled the dark-eyed one.

"Got it!" Answered the other. Naruto shot into the air threw a punch at Madomo. Needless to say, it had little effect, but it provided a distraction for the other.

"Go! Sasuke!"

Sasuke jumped over the giant's head and came down, full power, towards Ishiteru. The bandit leader jumped away just in time to avoid the attack, but Sasuke was immediately back in an offensive stance.

"I'll give you credit, kid," he said. "You've got guts." Ishiteru unbuckled the straps on his back, releasing the long spear they held. He held it in his arms and fell into a defensive position. "But it'll take more just some fancy moves and tall hops to beat us."

"Heh. Good thing that's not all I have, then, isn't it?" Sasuke retorted. He burst forward. Ishiteru thrust his spear forward, but Sasuke easily sidestepped the jab. Sliding forward on the ground, Sasuke fell in between Ishiteru and his weapon. The bandit leader attempted to get away from Sasuke's assault, but the boy was too quick, and he landed a brutal punch in the man's chest, sending him flying back.

Ishiteru quickly recovered and stood, grunting. "Hmph," he said.

This time Ishiteru lunged forward first, feinting an attack to Sasuke's left. But Sasuke easily saw through it and ducked under the real attack. Still squatted, Sasuke ran beneath the shaft of the spear, and pushed up Ishiteru's dominant hand. Swiftly, he grabbed hold of both of the man's wrists and used the control to pull him into a powerful knee thrust.

"Gargh…" Ishiteru grunted, but no sooner was he keeling over in pain than he pulled a large knife out of his sleeve. Sasuke evaded the attack, allowing Ishiteru to gain control of his spear. The bandit leader took his chance to attack and immediately lunged forth, showering Sasuke with a multitude of spear thrusts and knife cuts, but somehow, to Ishiteru's dismay, he dodged every single one.

At last, Sasuke pulled out his own pair of knives and used them to parry and hold down both Ishiteru's spear and dagger. Ishiteru looked him in the eyes, intending to intimidate the boy, but only found that to be an impossible task. He fell back in fear, his gaze fixed on Sasuke's red eyes. "W…what are you?!"

Sasuke merely hmph'd at the demand. Ishiteru got to his feet once more, prepared to go fight once more.

Meanwhile, Madomo was having trouble capturing his little blonde blur of an opponent. Naruto easily evaded every swipe of the giant man's large, muscular arms, ricocheting off the walls of surrounding stores to deliver an occasional punch or kick to the large man.

At last, Madomo caught him by thrusting forward his long leg in a powerful kick that Naruto barely managed to stop. In fact, it nearly knocked him over just from the sheer extension power. Madobo smirked and switched legs, once again extending a powerful sidekick in Naruto's direction.

Naruto struggled to jump back in time, and found himself confronted with nonstop kicks, until at last he rolled over onto his back. "Argh… Son of a…"

Madomo attempted to stomp down on him, but Naruto got out of the way, jumping back to his feet.

His hands formed a quick cross-shaped handseal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" He yelled, and three solid copies of him suddenly appeared. Madomo seemed confused at the sight of the blond multiplied by four. Was this guy all brawn and no brains?

"Let's go!" Yelled all four Narutos, as they all leapt in different directions. Two ran forward, one using the other as a stepping stone to get into the air. Madomo barely knocked him away in time to avoid his punch, causing him to disappear in a puff of smoke, but only grimaced when two other Naruto's shot up at him from the sides. One attempted to bearhug him from behind, despite the height difference. The other attempted a midair kick that Madomo was able swipe away, causing the clone to poof away. However, all three provided a great distraction as the fourth Naruto body-checked Madomo in the stomach, knocking him off balance. The Naruto bearhugging him from behind pulled backwards, using the momentum of disbalance to bring Madomo down, although it caused the last clone to disappear.

"The bigger you are," yelled Naruto, "the harder you…FALL!"

The giant recoiled in pain as his huge body met the concrete, but a powerful twitch knocked Naruto away, allowing him to stand once more.

"Hey, you're not bad for such a big guy, you know?" Naruto said. He had barely taken any damage and was in perfect condition. Madomo, however, had been hurt pretty badly by the fall.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto produced several more clones. A couple of them lunged for Madomo's legs, incapacitating his lower body. The others all burst into the air, attacking him in turn. The first two were blown away by his arms, but three more came after. One kicked him hard in the chin, while another threw a powerful pushing punch into his chest.

Behind him, Sasuke, fighting Ishiteru, kicked back his opponent, then used the bandit leader as a kickstand to leap into the air. Together, both Sasuke and the last Naruto attacked, each aiming as powerful a kick as they could muster to each of Madomo's temples.

The giant fell in a heap, unconscious and possibly dead from the assault. Naruto and Sasuke meanwhile, landed on their feet, staring down Ishiteru, who narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Dammit," he said, lifting up his spear once more.

"Naruto, make sure you watch out for his—" Sasuke was cut off by Naruto's warcry, as he burst forward, running straight for Ishiteru.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Naruto jumped into the air, producing three more clones. Ishiteru prepared his spear and watched as three came at him in turn, while the last went passed over his head.

He thrust his spear forward, destroying the first clone, then again to destroy the second.

_These are all clones… The real one is behind me!_

He turned as he jabbed his spear into the last clone and prepared to attack the real Naruto. But suddenly, he felt a powerful tug on his spear. He turned his head in shock to find Naruto, with a powerful hold on the spear, pulling back as hard as he could. Ishiteru fell backward into him, and Naruto delivered a destructive punch to the bandit leader's face, effectively knocking him down back to the ground.

_He…he took the hit? As a…distraction…_

Naruto jabbed the spear into the ground, pinning Ishiteru down by his collar. Naruto was panting now, but glaring at him angrily.

"This is _our_ village! If you mess with it, you mess with us! SO GET YOUR DIRTY ASS OUT!"

Xxxxx

"They've grown, haven't they, Minato?" Asked Sagisu. "These past five years."

"Yes. I suppose they have."

The two ex-shinobi had been sitting at the highest point of the village, watching the individual battles as well as they could. Minato sat cross-legged on the wall guarding the roof of the only tall building in the village, while Sagisu leaned against it.

"They've improved greatly. I'd venture to say…they could easily make standard Genin in a Hidden Village."

"Would you? Hm…perhaps."

"Heh, you don't give them enough credit."

Minato looked on, watching as Naruto threatened the bandit leader, yelling something about it being their village.

It had been a quick five years; Minato wasn't sure where the time had gone. But when he took into consideration the growth those six kids had experienced in that time, he couldn't believe that it had only been five years. They were no longer the innocent little children they were before… They had grown into some interesting adolescents. And skilled ones at that.

The older two were nearing their fourteenth birthdays, whilst Naruto, the youngest of the others was not far from celebrating his thirteenth. Minato supposed that by now, they would have been Genin, and probably good ones. Sagisu was right; they had grown a great deal more than he ever gave them credit for. To think that they had come so far…

Tenten, of course, had exhibited great skill in handling tools from a young age. It had been clear to Minato that she would become the weapons expert of the group. And strangely, she never failed to carry a weapon on her, seemingly pulling knives out of nowhere.

After they had overused the practice weapons that Sasuke had had with him, Minato had decided that they no longer needed the Academy toys anymore anyway. He quickly sought out the best blacksmith in town and set him to work on a set of kunai and shuriken for a hefty sum of money, giving him the Sasuke's worn out tools to use as a model. The resulting products had been about as close to standard shinobi supplies as Minato hoped to get; clearly not of the same caliber, but close enough to be used, let alone deemed functional.

And Tenten had mastered her art well. She was now proficient with a multitude of different forms of weaponry, from ranged weapons to melee tools, bladed and blunt. No matter what it was, if it could be held in the hand, Tenten knew how to use it to kill. Though, Minato was glad, she had never been forced to do so.

Well, that bandit had taken a rather brutal jab to the head after insulting Tenten. She had shown no mercy. Minato wasn't sure if he was alive still or not.

He watched as Tenten and Sakura took their leave of Tori, their lifelong role model. She had helped him a great deal with raising the two girls while they were young, and he was undeniably grateful for it. However, he couldn't help but feel a tad sorry that he had basically stolen them from her. After all, Tenten had been immediately willing to give up the majority of her flowershop visits to train, and even Sakura had relented.

Speaking of which, Sakura had taken a strange turn at the beginning of their shinobi training. Minato suspected that it had something to do with Sasuke, whether it was a crush or something else entirely. But it seemed as if Sakura was willing to do basically anything that he was involved in, even hard work and training.

And it was a good thing, too. The scared little girl of before had grown into a confident and talented adolescent girl. Minato would be damned if he'd seen such a skilled Genjutsu user at that age in his life, and he suspected that her chakra controlled rivaled that of even his former student, Rin.

At this point, he could no longer tell which one had more potential. These days, both girls managed to remind him of Tsunade herself. It seemed that, had they together been one person, they probably would have been a reincarnation of the Sannin herself.

His gaze now shifted to the arriving figures of Lee and Shikamaru. Pride in the kids was not something he often allowed himself to show, as their desperate chase to earn it fueled their motivations more than anything. Nevertheless, Minato couldn't deny that the progress those two had made made him incredibly proud just thinking about it.

After all, it had been a huge disappointment to everyone when they realized that Lee was incapable of molding chakra. The boy had been so dismayed that Minato feared he would never come out of his depression. But he had promised never to let Lee fall behind the others, and devoted a great deal of time and attention to supervise Lee's training, putting all the emphasis on his Taijutsu skills. Needless to say, Lee's hard work and determination were the true factors of success in his training, and they were things that Lee had an excess of.

And it had worked. After all, even Sasuke, who would easily have been dubbed a genius in Konoha, could not keep up with Lee's speed, nor any other of his physical abilities. He was stronger, faster, and more durable than anyone. And he never stopped practicing; whenever Minato showed him a new skill, he would practice it nonstop, only stopping to eat and sleep, until he mastered it.

And of course, being the most mature of the group, Lee never showed off, nor did he complain at the difference in training between him and the others. He worked with what he got; he made lemon juice with his lemons. And he never showed any hint that he felt superior or inferior to the others for it.

And of course, as always, what Lee was, Shikamaru wasn't. He was the epitome of the Nara legacy; a tactical genius, lazy shit, and local maverick. If Shikamaru wasn't busy watching the clouds, then he was playing a game of Shogi with anyone who would bother (these days, it was mostly the older gentlemen of the village, since Minato, Sagisu, and Lee were too busy). And if he wasn't playing Shogi, then he was hard at work trying to figure out something that he had set his mind to discovering. He was always deducing new things, and sometimes Minato thought that Shikamaru was reading his mind when he spoke of things he shouldn't have known of.

That wasn't to say that Shikamaru did no training, though. Minato forced him to practice his chakra control and jutsu every once in a while. It had taken a great deal of time and a lot of effort, but with Minato's help, Shikamaru had re-developed and mastered Kagemane no Jutsu, the Shadow Imitation jutsu. Shikamaru, of course, had no idea that it was a clan skill that belonged to his real father; as far as he knew, he had developed it on his own, with Minato guiding the way. Nevertheless, he made as good use of it as Nara Shikaku ever did. And hopefully he would be able to, one day, develop more techniques similar to his family's legacy.

And speaking of clan legacies…

Minato turned his gaze back down below them. There sat Naruto and Sasuke, panting hard and calming down after their battle with the bandits. From where he was sitting, it was difficult, but with chakra-enhanced vision, Minato could just barely make out the red tint in Sasuke's eyes disappear, only to be replaced with the usual, dark onyx coloring.

Sasuke had wasted no time in proving how powerful his bloodline was. He mastered new skills in a speed that Minato could describe as nothing short of amazing, and it made him admire the Uchiha clan all the more. Obito, it seemed, had never possessed the Uchiha blood as powerfully as Sasuke did.

It had taken a few years, but eventually, Sasuke had awakened his Kekkei Genkai, his bloodline limit, the infamous Uchiha Sharingan. It brought back memories of Minato's student, Kakashi, to see such a genius young ninja in possession of those eyes. In fact, even Sasuke's stoic personality reminded Minato of Hatake Kakashi, at least after Obito's death.

But Sasuke, it seemed, had even more potential than Kakashi. Although he was now nowhere near the level of skill that Kakashi had possessed at this age, he had a huge amount of untapped power resting within him. No doubt, one day soon, Sasuke would make one splendid shinobi. Perhaps he could even make a legend of himself.

Lastly, Minato's attention was brought to Naruto. The blonde, although having just gone through a difficult battle, still had the energy to run around and yell. Sasuke himself was resting on the ground, but Naruto just kept going…and going…and going. It seemed there was no end to his stamina.

Minato inwardly was most proud of Naruto's improvement. The prankster had advanced from being a conniving, annoying little monster to a clever, witty warrior. True, he was loud and obnoxious and had a strange attraction to great, blaring colors, but Minato would be damned if he wasn't the most hyperactive, master of surprise ninja that he had ever seen.

And thankfully, through all these years of training, the Kyubi had stayed put. There had been no sign of the seal cracking, as Minato had made it a point to check on it regularly and ensure that it was still safe. As he and the Sandaime had planned together, the seal was designed so that over time, Naruto's chakra would mix with the Kyubi's chakra, as a form of protection for the time when a life-or-death situation would truly be upon them. Minato, undoubtedly, had been curious as to how the chakra mixing would work, but it seemed that Naruto was just like any other ninja. Although, Minato couldn't help but wonder if the hyperactive blonde's insane stamina and incredible recovery power had anything to do with the Kyubi.

Overall, they had made enormous improvements over the years, not only in the ninja arts, but in terms of maturity and individualistic growth as well.

"Hmph," said Sagisu, "maybe we ought to congratulate them on their victory."

Sagisu, too, had been a great help over the years. Training six kids in the ninja arts would have been a near impossible task for Minato. But with Sagisu, they had exactly three students for every Jounin-level ninja, which perfectly fit two sets of Genin teams. They often alternated their tutelage, addressing the needs of whomever required their individual knowledge and skill the most. Minato really owed it to the other ex-shinobi.

"Yeah. That, or yell at them for not taking care of the problem quicker."

Sagisu snickered. "Right. Let's go, then."

The two of them leapt down from the tall building, arriving just at about the same time as Tenten, Sakura, Lee, and Shikamaru. Naruto had now taken a seat on the ground beside Sasuke, and the two seemed to be arguing.

"I took them both down! I should get all the credit!" Naruto said.

"What're you talking about, dumbass? We both beat the giant guy together, at the same time. And that spear guy wouldn't have been so easy for you to beat up if I hadn't shaken him up first."

"Yeah, yeah, but I delivered the finishing blow! I took a hit so we could finish him off!"

"Yeah, just like you, idiot. Get hurt when you don't need to. You drama queen."

"Hey! I'm a man! I can't be a queen."

"Hn. Dobe."

"Bastard!"

Minato and Sagisu sweatdropped at the exchange.

_I can never tell… Either they hate each other, or they're like brothers. I never had a brother, so I wouldn't know…_

"Argh…those bickering little snots… I got beat by them…?" Minato turned his attention to the defeated bandit leader. Over the past few minutes, the majority of his minions had fled, not at all eager to take on the adolescent monsters. He was now incapacitated, and worse, all alone.

"Naruto and Sasuke have an…interesting relationship," Minato answered. "But that has nothing to do with your defeat. They're just talented, is all. And it's like Naruto said… This is _their_ home. When something precious to you is threatened, you're bound to fight your hardest to save it, no?"

The bandit leader had no answer, so Minato let him be. Sagisu would take care of him. Minato, on the other hand, confronted his six students…children… Things.

He stood with his arms folded, gazing intently at them. The six of them lined up, albeit in a pretty crappy line.

"You guys fought pretty hard today…" he said, quietly.

"We kicked some ass, too," said Naruto.

"Hell yeah," added Tenten, her first in the air.

"Well, I can't say that I'm _proud_… _Real_ shinobi would have taken care of the situation _so_ much quicker and more _much_ more efficiently."

The looks on their faces were somewhat dismayed.

"But, I suppose, your victory does warrant a celebratory meal, eh? Your pick."

"Yatta! Ramen, I call ramen!"

Xxxxx

Despite Naruto making the first call, the group had settled on a restaurant of more variety in foods. They were a rather large party, and a little ramen bar wasn't very likely to house them all comfortably.

Wait…comfortably?

"Hey, Lee, pass the sauce!"

"Keep your elbows off the table, Shikamaru, it's not polite!"

"How troublesome…"

"Who took my fork?!"

"OUCH! Not THAT sauce!

"Hn. Too loud."

"Shut it, bastard."

"Dumbass."

Minato sighed. Not only did he have to pay for all of them to eat…but he had to endure an entire meal with the lot of them. Not that he didn't like them or anything…but sometimes they could be so…well…so troublesome! Minato sometimes wondered how he managed to survive so long as a guardian for all six.

He had originally invited both Sagisu and Tori to come along, but Sagisu was intent on making sure the bandits were well disposed of and Tori had had enough excitement for one day. So, he was all alone.

"Listen," he said, "stop arguing about the sauce, kay? And Shikamaru, you can put your elbows on the table, it's not like it's a fancy restaurant or anything… And nobody stole your fork, Tenten, this restaurant just has one per plate…"

Suddenly, all the attention was on him. The little kids of five years ago would have immediately shut up if he told them to, but unfortunately he had taught them to have the guts to ask why. He had attempted to make the switch from being a parent to being a commander, but seemingly he had failed to do so. Nowadays he had hardly any control over them, and so he had now gathered the animosity of most of the table.

_Well… this is what being a commander is all about, isn't it? Making yourself the common enemy of the whole group._

Minato spent the remainder of his afternoon lamenting his decision to interfere with the argument, as all it resulted in was a disturbingly painful headache.

Xxxxx

As time passed, things calmed down in Satowa. The bandit attack had caused a great deal of excitement, but thanks to the amateur shinobi, it had caused minimal damage and allowed the village to continue on its way to prosperity.

In fact, Minato had, to his surprise, received a great deal of thanks from the villagers for the kids' efforts. He was proud, to say the least.

Looking outside, he watched as rain clouds were beginning to form. There was supposedly going to be heavy rain that night, and he didn't want anyone to get caught in it.

"Yo! Head count!" He yelled, waiting for everyone inside the house to come. In a few moments, he found before him five confused and annoyed heads.

_Only Sasuke's missing, hm?_

Looking back out the window, he studied the clouds. It was going to start raining soon.

"Tenten," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Go get Sasuke. It's about to start pouring pretty hard, and I don't want him to get sick out there."

"Right." With that, the bun-haired girl left and ran off towards the clearing that had become "the orphan family"'s private backyard.

Although it was for his own good, Minato felt bad for having to pull Sasuke away from his haven.

_After all,_ he thought, _it's the anniversary of _that_ day._

Xxxxx

Sasuke sat calmly, his feet dangling over the pond. He stared at his own reflection, seeing beside his grown self the face of his youth. The innocent young boy who had lost everything.

Comparing himself now to what he was back then…he had grown significantly. But he had no means of testing his growth. He had no idea how he would stand if he measured himself against the shinobi of Konoha.

Not that he particularly interested in going to find out. Over the past five years, he had gained a growing comfort in Satowa, and more importantly, the people in it. He enjoyed being with and living with the other orphans; he was almost at home around them. But it was around this time of year, every year, that thoughts of returning drifted into his head. He considered, every year, the possibility of going back to Konoha to confront his brother.

But it never lasted. Eventually, he would be brought back down to Earth and realize that he wasn't yet capable of taking on that man, and it would only fuel his determination to train harder.

And yet…those same words echoed through his head, nonstop.

"_My foolish little brother… If you want to kill me, curse me, hate me!"_

His fist clenched, the scene replaying in his mind once again.

"_Live a long and unsightly life. Run away, run away, and cling to your pitiful life…"_

His jaw clenched; his legs no longer swung, but were now hanging still above the water.

"_And some day, when you have the same 'eyes' as me… Come before me!"_

Looking back at his reflection, Sasuke found that he was shaking. He opened his fist and took a deep breath.

_Calm, Sasuke,_ he told himself.

He needed to keep his cool. Otherwise he would never get anywhere.

…_Huh? What…_

He turned his head ever so slightly, but there was no longer any reason to do so. Whoever had come to interrupt him had walked openly into the clearing.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?"

That hadn't been the question he was expecting…nor was the voice familiar to him at all. Look at the reflection of the water, he saw the tip of a silhouette, but he couldn't make out any distinguishing features.

"What if I am?" He answered.

"Heh. That's good enough for me."

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, still not bothering to turn around.

"My name is Hyuga Neji. I'm here to bring you back to Konoha. Forcefully, if I must."

So… Konoha had come after him at last. After all this time…

Struggling to keep his cool, Sasuke turned his head just enough to get a view Hyuga Neji. He couldn't have been any older than Lee or Tenten, and had long brown hair. He seemed to wear a white jacket, and as expected, he wore the standard leaf Hitai-ate that marked him as a Konoha shinobi.

"And what will you do, Hyuga Neji, if I'm too much for you to handle?" He asked.

Neji looked unimpressed. "That doesn't seem to be quite likely of a result. However, the only way to make sure is to find out. Honestly, I would prefer it if you came quietly. It would save me the trouble of going through a battle that I can already predict the ending of."

Sasuke snorted. He didn't like this guy.

Slowly, he stood up and turned to face the Hyuga.

"I'd heard that the Uchiha were among the most powerful clans in the world," said Neji. "I wonder if your doujutsu can stand up to that of the Hyuga?"

"Hmph." Sasuke buried his hand in his pocket, getting a grasp on several knives.

"Stop playing around with your knives. Come at me or surrender."

"Tch." Sasuke let fly his knives and followed them through their course. Neji pulled out his own kunai and easily knocked them away. Sasuke came immediately after, throwing a momentum-filled punch towards Neji, but the white-eyed boy easily evaded by bending backward. He released his legs from the ground hitting Sasuke as they flew up, but Sasuke managed to veer off in midair away from the Hyuga's impending trap.

This time, Neji came at him. The Hyuga ran forward and jumped overhead. Sasuke, seeing no other alternative, activated his Sharingan and tracked down Neji's movements. Just in time, he managed to avoid a kunai slash by jumping away. Neji landed and burst forward, Sasuke barely having time to retaliate. They each threw their respective assaults, but thanks to their doujutsu, neither landed a hit. Sasuke parried a punch and tried to sweep Neji off his feet, but the Hyuga was too quick. He jumped into the air, thrusting his palm into Sasuke's face, only to be stopped by Sasuke's own fist.

Sasuke grimaced as they pushed away off each other. This battle wasn't going well. He wasn't accustomed to fighting a shinobi.

"Heh. Looks like what they say about the Uchiha is true, after all… Even a deadweight loner who's spent half his life in a farming village has some skill."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Watch what you say, Hyuga. You can't even fathom the power of the Uchiha bloodline."

But Neji had no retort. Instead, he had left his battle stance, his gaze fixed at a sight behind Sasuke.

"Perhaps he cannot… But can I?"

Sasuke's eyes widened, as he felt every inch of his body suddenly shiver due to the cold, emotionless voice. He had recognized it immediately.

"So…" said Neji, smirking. "I was wondering how long it'd take for you to come out. Is this reunion difficult for you?"

Sasuke slowly turned around, his Sharingan fixed on the man standing behind him. He had hair, as black as Sasuke's own, tied in a ponytail down his neck. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and black uniform. Wrinkles secluded his eyes upon his face, as the fully-mastered Sharingan stared out from within them. Sasuke's fists clenched.

Once again, the memory of that day played out through his mind. All the thoughts of revenge, all the anger he had gathered throughout the years spilled into him instantly as he stared down the man whom he considered to be the root of all his evil.

"_And some day, when you have the same 'eyes' as me… Come before me!"_

"Uchiha…" he seethed. "Itachi."

* * *

Author's Notes: I liked this chapter a lot more than the last few. Maybe it's because the story is finally starting to move along? Meh.

For some strange reason, there were several instances at which I had the urge to make characters say 'lol'. It happened pretty much every time any dialogue began with a word that starts with the letter L. Weird.


	5. The Elder Uchiha

_**Outsiders**_

_5 – The Elder Uchiha_

Xxxxx

"Uchiha… Itachi."

Sasuke's eyes glared, the red Sharingan flaring within, at the man who was the center of his entire universe. The cause of all his misery…

And despite his own words, _Itachi_ had just come before _him_.

"I see you've grown, Sasuke," said Itachi.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled.

Part of him still couldn't believe it. Inside, Sasuke's emotions were embroiled in war, caught between a state of shock and disbelief, as well as that of hatred and ambition. Underconfidence built within him quickly, reminding him of all the time he had wasted. He knew he had improved, but could he truly handle the ferocity of his older brother? Could he, alone, defeat that which the entire Uchiha clan had fallen before?

But there was no time to hesitate, he thought. His ambition was before him, egging him on. This was his chance… And if anyone even considered that he wouldn't take it, then damn them to hell for underestimating his will.

"After all this time…" said Sasuke, quietly. He felt as if he were speaking to an illusion, a ghostly dream that had haunted him for long in the past years. But, he reminded, himself, this was real. "You told me to run, to cling to life…"

In front of him appeared the ghostly shape of his young self, the helpless little boy who had been a coward and done nothing but flee out of fright. He had forsaken himself back then, but the emotional apparition only served to fuel his resolve.

He gritted his teeth, staring Itachi dead in the eye, hate and anger clearly enscribed on his face.

"And now, here you are, coming to me!" He yelled, his usual cold exterior having long disappeared, leaving only fiery emotion . "Have you come looking for your death, Itachi?!"

Itachi said nothing, which made Sasuke all the more furious. Behind him, Neji chuckled.

"I don't care why you're here… Whether it's to take me back to Konoha, or to finish what you started that night..." He bent his knees, one leg sliding back, as he prepared to launch himself forward. "But this is the last night you'll live to see!"

With that, Sasuke burst forward, spilling into his assault every ounce of emotion he had within him. Itachi evaded the attack, but Sasuke threw himself into a tree and ricocheted off of it to get high into the air.

"Katon: Housenka no jutsu! Mythical Fire Flower!" Six ferocious fireballs flew out at Itachi, who, emotionless as before, avoided every single one. Sasuke landed and pounced at the elder Uchiha, feinting a punch only to fall sideways and heave himself up into a handstand. He kicked at Itachi, who blocked the kick and caught Sasuke's leg. Sasuke brought up his other leg into another kick, but Itachi, with his extra hand, caught that too.

Smirking, Sasuke lifted himself up with his core, so that Itachi held him completely horizontally.

"Katon: Gougakyuu no jutsu! Great fireball!"

Sasuke felt Itachi's hands retreat from his ankles, but it was too late. The flames had already erupted from his mouth, sending everything ahead, Itachi included, into a burning haze as Sasuke felt himself blown backwards.

He gently landed and backed away from the smoking site, avoiding the flying embers produced by the two clashing fireballs.

"Impressive," he heard from behind the haze. "You've improved, Sasuke."

"Shut up!" He answered. Inwardly, however, he couldn't help but feel inferior. He couldn't even figure out what Itachi had done to counter his assault. _How…?_

"Even with my Byakugan, I still can't keep up with that sealing speed of yours…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke gazed at Neji as he spoke.

Grunting, Sasuke stood up to his full height, prepared for what may come next from the flames.

_Have to stay calm… Stay calm…_ He told himself. He was in a situation where he couldn't risk any gambit. Despite his ambition and his resolve, Itachi was still a powerful enemy.

"However…" Itachi said, "It's not enough."

"You…" Sasuke felt dread and fear both when Itachi's voice suddenly appeared behind him, "are still weak."

He spun around, only to be grabbed viciously by his brother's powerful hand. Sasuke fought back, attempting to knee Itachi in the stomach, but the older brother swerved aside to avoid it. Sasuke balanced himself on two bent legs as Itachi pushed him down onto his back, then attempted to curl his leg around Itachi to catch him in a hold. Using all his weight, Sasuke pulled and threw Itachi to the side. However, with Itachi's hold still gripping him tightly, he quickly followed, landing in a heap on the ground. As they landed, Sasuke reached past a kunai stab and grabbed his brother's throat, attempting to choke him.

All this became a fruitless effort, he realized, when Itachi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

…_! Kage Bunshin?!_

Sasuke suddenly felt himself heaved up into the air and vigorously thrust against a tree.

"Groveling around in the dirt…" he heard Itachi say. "Your desperation is disappointing. What have you been doing all this time, little brother? For five years, you've spent your time fooling around, wasting time? You are weak."

Sasuke struggled against Itachi's hold, but was unable to release himself from the tightening grip. He reopened his eyes, only then realizing that they had at some point been closed, and glared at Itachi's eyes with a murderous intent.

"You try to look intimidating, but in reality your image is pathetic," Itachi continued. "Why are you so weak?" He asked, in a philosophical tone.

The question went unanswered as Sasuke began to lose feeling throughout his body. He couldn't stop him… He couldn't even compare…

_Why…? After all this time… The difference between us… Why is the gap between our power still so great?_

"It's because…" Itachi whispered, leaning in closer, as if to answer Sasuke's own thoughts. "you do not have enough…hatred."

Itachi closed one eye, focusing the other on Sasuke's two eyes. The three tomoe of Itachi's Sharingan slowly transformed, joining together in a circle to form a shuriken with curved edges.

Dread filled within Sasuke, the red glow his Sharingan disappearing from his eyes, as he stared into his older brother's own pair. He knew that shape; he had seen it before. Back on that dreadful night, and on the days beforehand. He knew what was coming now, the second Itachi unleashed his Mangekyou Sharingan's power of Tsukiyomi.

_No…no! Not…that…!_

But it was too late. Images of the massacre appeared in a dark haze, illuminated by the red moon of the world of Tsukiyomi. His parents' bloody corpses, Itachi standing over them with a remorseless face of stone; the dead members of the Uchiha clan filling the streets of their home district.

Slowly breaking on the inside, Sasuke succumbed to the numbness spreading throughout his body. Slowly, he began to drift out of consciousness. His lips moved, trying to form a word, but at that moment his strength finally failed him.

Unable to hold on any longer, Sasuke's eyes fell, his head drooping slowly after. His face was twisted into a horrendous mixture of fear and exhaustion.

Itachi slowly released his grip and allowed Sasuke to fall onto his shoulder. He turned away from the tree to meet his partner's curious expression. He cocked an eyebrow, as if to say, "What?"

"Hmph." Neji closed his eyes and chuckled. "Cruel as ever…even to your own family."

"You're one to talk," Itachi answered.

"I suppose not. What now?"

"The job's done. We have Sasuke, as ordered. Now we take him back to Konoha."

"What about the others? We've had reports that he isn't living here alone. There may be more rogue shinobi, most likely from or related to Konoha. Shouldn't we check them out?"

"That's not part of our mission. We'll notify Orochimaru-sama once we're back. For now, we head back."

"Whatever you say," Neji said, somewhat annoyed. He had been interested in finding out just what kinds of skills these rogue shinobi had. They were bound to be interesting, albeit weaker than Sasuke. Inwardly, the Hyuga was positive that he himself would have defeated Sasuke had he wished to.

"Not so fast!"

The call was a loud, feminine one. Neji and Itachi, both facing away from the newest arrival stopped where they were.

"I don't care who the hell you are," she continued. "But if you're concerned at all about leaving this village alive, you'll put him down."

Neji didn't even bother to turn. "Tall, brown hair in buns, grey eyes. Probably around my own age," He said, speaking mostly to Itachi, but also in an attempt to intimidate their new foe.

"Furthermore, judging by her earlier confidence and current surprise and wariness, she's never faced a true shinobi before. The narrowed eyes and clenched jaw are a sign that she's lost her confidence and is beginning to understand the difference between us. But she's not preparing to run; her feet haven't moved and her body is still facing towards us. Obviously she intends to fight; either she's been trained by someone, most likely a shinobi, or she's determined to get Sasuke back."

Silence followed. Tenten, her jaw still clenched out of nervousness, contemplated her options. She had to save Sasuke, no matter what. But these guys…were the real deal. True shinobi from Konoha. And the way the younger one had seen her every movement without even looking at her…it was insane. And fearsome.

"She's clearly no threat," he continued. "She's covered in weapons; looks like some cheap knockoffs of our own brands. Probably the work of an ordinary smith. She's built, for a girl, but her chakra circulatory system isn't completely developed just yet. She must be a weapons specialist, in that case."

"She won't trouble you then," Itachi answered. "Take care of her quick."

Tenten bit her lip. Her confidence was gone. She had no idea what she could do against these guys…they already knew her fighting style. The smaller one seemed to be able to see everything, even without looking. He knew she carried weapons; he probably knew where they all were, too. Not even surprise attacks were possible, now…

She couldn't back down, though… She had to save Sasuke! Even if it meant fighting to the death…

"Imagining your own defeat…" the small one said again. He turned to face her now. His eyes seemingly had no pupils, and veins were visible all around them. Tenten felt a wave of uneasiness hit her as she stared into those endless, white eyes. "And now fear…" he added. "I've already won this battle."

"Don't be so quick to decide!" Howled Tenten, and she lunged at her foe.

Xxxxx

_It's like the clouds are waiting for something…_

Minato sat still, watching the skies, in exactly the same spot he had been in all night. Dusk had already arrived, and the sky had been riddled with dark storm clouds when the darkness had settled in.

It had been a good half hour since Minato had sent Tenten to go and find Sasuke. He couldn't imagine what was taking so long… At her pace, Tenten should have arrived back in, at most, half of that time.

_What could possibly be taking her so long…?_

At that moment, his attention was drawn to a knock on the front door. A moment later, Sagisu stood in his home, looking somewhat distraught.

"What's going on?"

"I've been dealing with that bandit leader for the last few days and I need to know a few things about the attack. Plus, I'll need a hand with a few other things."

Minato nodded. "Right, I'm coming."

"The kids, too," Sagisu said. "I'll need at least a few of them, for information. They know what happened best."

Minato sighed, before sending out another round-up call. This time, only the boys, excluding Sasuke, showed up.

"What's up, old man Sagisu?" Came Naruto's usual greeting.

"Hey," Sagisu answered.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked Minato, stared at them for a moment, eyebrow cocked.

"Where's Sakura?" He asked.

All three of them shrugged their shoulders. Minato scratched his head. "Well, whatever. Sagisu needs a hand with something. Lee, Shikamaru, help him out, will you?"

Shikamaru sighed while Lee saluted him.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute," Minato told Sagisu. Lee and Shikamaru followed him out, while Naruto looked back at Minato.

"I'm off the hook, then?"

"Nope. I sent Tenten to get Sasuke earlier. That was more than a half hour ago. I can't think of any reason why she would take so long. Go find them. Find out what's taking them so long. Then come back and report to me."

"Right, yeah, whatever."

Naruto ran off in the same direction Tenten had gone not so long ago. _I hope they're okay…_ Minato thought to himself, before he followed Sagisu, Lee, and Shikamaru.

Xxxxx

Tenten hit the ground, blood spurting across the earth below her. Pain echoed throughout her body. She could no longer move…

"It's like I predicted," said Neji, walking towards her. "Not even a threat."

"Hurry it up," Itachi said from farther away. "We can't waste too much time here."

"Fine. I guess I'll just finish her off then. No point in having her follow us later."

Tenten grimaced, hearing the sounds of a kunai being unsheathed.

"Just remember," he said. "Messing with Konoha's affairs was the mistake you made."

Just as the kunai was about to slam down, the white-eyed one's eyes widened. He hurled himself out of the way as an orange blur hit the ground where he stood.

"Another one?" Neji thought out loud. Naruto immediately flew forward, but Neji intercepted his punch and pushed aside his arm. The blonde tried to tackle him down, but Neji was too quick. He grabbed Naruto's sleeves, and, using the momentum of Naruto's tackle, threw him down to the ground. He immediately followed that up by hurling his kunai into Naruto's abdomen.

The blonde hit the ground shortly before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Kage bunshin?" Neji narrowed his eyes. He could be anywhere now. Certainly, this one was more of a challenge… He had already attacked and was hidden already. He could attack at any time, from anywhere…

Neji quickly activated his Byakugan, searching the surrounding trees for the strange blaring outfit he had been wearing.

Apparently, however, there was no need.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are! But doing that to Tenten… I'm gonna kick your ass, you hear?!" Naruto came out into the clearing, standing with his arms crossed, completely visible.

Neji snorted. "Looks like I was wrong…" he said "You're a fool. Leaving your hiding place…you had an advantage there. Now you're just a big, blaring target."

"Who the hell are you guys, anyway?" Naruto asked. "Coming in here and attacking us for no reason… I can't forgive something like that…!"

"Hmph… It'd take a fool to think we would actually reveal our secrets just because you asked. You know, this will all be over a lot sooner if you just get down on the ground play dead."

Naruto's clenched his jaw in anger, practically growling.

"My, you're easy to rile up…"

Now, Naruto's fist was clenched, as well. He was ready to jump at that these guys any second and beat the living crap out of them, but a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. Looking down, Naruto found Tenten looking up at him.

"N-Naruto…they're shinobi from Konoha," she said.

_Konoha…?_ He thought. _What the hell are they doing here, then?_

"They…they captured S-Sasuke…" she continued. Naruto stared, wide-eyed, at the blue figure hung over the bigger one's shoulder. No doubt; even in the darkness, he could tell.

"Sasuke…" he growled.

"Hn. Are you going to stand up for your friends and attack us, just like her, or what?" The taunt snapped Naruto's attention back to the white-eyed one. He couldn't be too much older than himself, yet Naruto felt a chill creeping through him as he stared at his empty, white eyes.

_Gladly,_ he thought. He was about to lunge when Tenten's hold on his ankle strengthened. Looking down at her again, he saw that she was struggling to talk.

"They're strong…be careful," she said. Naruto nodded. "That one with the white eyes…" she continued. "He can…he can see everything."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, but Tenten didn't seem to have the energy to speak anymore. Her grip loosened, and Naruto gently slipped out of it.

"Alright," he said. "Now, we can fight!" Naruto yelled, immediately running towards Neji.

_He's not even bothering to be subtle…_ Neji mused. _He's just running straight at me. Is this guy for real?_

He easily sidestepped a punch and stopped a swift kick with his hand.

_I can't believe these two were trained by the same guy…_ Neji thought. _This one…fights nothing like a shinobi._

Naruto continued his barrage of attacks, Neji easily intercepting every one, before finally thrusting his arm into Naruto's chest. The blonde boy flew back into the ground.

"How pathetic…" he said. "I can't even call someone like you a shinobi! You run straight at your enemy and just attack with a barrage of random assaults… There's no strategy and no skill… You're nothing more than a village boy playing hero, aren't you?"

Naruto slowly got up. "Shut up!" He roared.

"Hmph. If you really think you can call yourself a shinobi…why don't you prove it?"

Neji could feel Itachi's gaze on his back. The Uchiha wanted to get this over with already and get back home… But the fun was worth it. He'd wanted to know what these rogue shinobi were capable of. Even if they were just rookie Genin level.

"Fine then!" The blonde yelled. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Five copies of him appeared, each one drawing a kunai.

"Kage bunshin again…" he muttered to himself. _And this time, there's a bunch of them… I doubt he can hold them for very long. I'll call it at a minute, tops._

The six blondes circled around Neji, each waiting for the right moment. The Hyuga smirked, right as he was rushed. He gracefully grabbed the first two arms to reach him and pulled them into each other, dispelling both. He grabbed each one's kunai and hurled them at the next pair, easily eradicating them. A fifth blonde came at him from above, while another snuck in from behind. Neji stepped back and caught the one above him by both arms and threw him backwards into the last one.

"Just because there's more of you doesn't mean that any of them are better fighters," Neji commented. "You can't beat me with such mediocre skill."

"Dammit…" Naruto muttered. This guy saw through his every move and countered it perfectly. Just like Tenten said…he could see everything.

He stood up again, gasping for breath.

"Why don't you just give up and go?" Neji suggested. "I'll let you off for good behavior. A guy like you could never hope to beat someone like me, anyway. You're destined for nothing more than soil and cattle. Stop trying to be a hero. This fight is pointless."

"You can…just shut the hell up!" Naruto answered. "I don't need a guy like you telling me what's pointless and what's not! Don't think just because your eyes are special means that you're better than me! I've been fighting Sasuke and his Sharingan for years… If you think your eyes are a challenge for me, then just sit and watch!"

Neji was not amused. "You're a fool."

Naruto said nothing. Instead, he formed a seal with his hands. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" He yelled.

"Again with the shadow cl…"

Suddenly, in a gust of wind, the clearing was filled with Naruto's.

"What in the hell…?" Said Neji.

On the sideline, Itachi chuckled. _I've never seen one person use so many clones… Especially not someone so young._

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it, because that'll be the name of the man who defeated you!" All thirty Naruto's called in unison. Together, they charged him, some throwing punches while the others hung back and drew shuriken from their pockets.

Neji easily countered the attacks, not missing a single beat. He evaded every punch, kick, and cold, star-shaped piece of metal that Naruto threw at him.

The clones were disappearing one by one. Neji easily caught them each in quick thrust, dispelling them with ease. It was just as he had said earlier… No matter how many clones there were, every single one was just as weak as the original.

Several clones rushed him, but Neji separated them all and dispelled them each in turn. Not many were left… Only about as many as there had been the last time the kid had used kage bunshin.

Two clones lunged at him from the sides. Neji smirked. "No matter how many clones you use… In the end, they're all the same," he said. "Every attack is just the same thing…done over and over again!"

He struck both clones in the chest, forcing them into nonexistence. The smoke from their disappearance was slow to clear, however, and Neji suddenly felt his arms being tugged to the sides.

"What?!" As the smoke cleared, Neji found two new clones, each holding down one of his arms. "Where did they…"

He had no time to think however, as another clone lunged at him. Neji used the clones' hold of him against them and threw his legs up in the air to kick the new attacker, who quickly disappeared.

Only to be replaced by another, as the kunai he held transformed back into a clone that grabbed Neji's legs and held him, together with the other clones, up in the air.

_Shit! While I was fighting the horde, some of his clones must have transformed into kunai! I thought he was just using the same strategy as before… But he formed a new one so quickly, knowing I would counterattack the same way as before… This guy…_

"Who's the target now?!" He heard from above, as the original shot down towards him from the air.

_S-shit! I have to stop him!_

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Naruto yelled as he prepared both feet for the crash.

In a powerful stroke, Naruto hit his target and flew backwards into the ground from the recoil. However, Neji only smirked as a blue aura blocked Naruto's attack. The clones, thinking he had been hit, released their hold of his limbs. Neji swiftly caught his balance and immediately struck out all three clones.

Naruto got up and saw the unexpected result of his plan. "W-what the hell…?"

"Overconfidence leads to defeat…" Neji said. "To assume I didn't have any kind of back-up plan was a mistake. I've fought enemies far more powerful than you. You think I wouldn't be prepared for a situation like that?"

"D-damn… Now what?" Naruto asked himself.

"Now…" Neji answered. "this fight is over."

"Huh?"

"You are in the range of my Hakke…"

Naruto stood straight up, but Neji was too quick.

"Jyuken style, Hakke Rokujuuyonshou! Sixty-Four Hands of Hakke!" Neji became a white blur, suddenly appearing before him. "Hakke two hands!" He struck Naruto with two fingers.

"Four hands!" This time in four different places.

"Eight hands!" Now he moved on to Naruto's other side.

"Sixteen hands! Thirty-two hands! Sixty-four…Hands of Hakke!"

Naruto flew backwards into the ground. He suddenly was able to feel every inch of his body…in pain. Worse, he felt as if all his energy had left him.

Grimacing, Naruto struggled to get back up.

"A shinobi's body has three-hundred-sixty-one chakra pours," said Neji, "through which chakra is released. I've struck sixty-four of those "Tenketsu" points. Right now, you are incapable of producing any chakra."

Naruto fell to the ground, but tried to push himself back up again. Neji chuckled. "My name is Hyuga Neji. Remember that as the name of the man who defeated you."

Naruto growled and slowly lifted himself up onto one knee. Neji stared at him coldly.

"Why are you trying so hard?" He asked. "Sasuke has already been captured. Your other friend is down on the ground and wounded. You can no longer fight me. You should just give up. This battle has become pointless for you."

"Shut up…" Naruto answered, still trying to get back up. He fell once more, a bloody cough erupting from his mouth.

"You can't beat me. The difference between us is obvious. I'm a trained shinobi… A master of the Hyuga clan's Jyuken, the Gentle Fist style. And you…you are nothing more than a farmboy trying to protect his friends. In the world of shinobi, only a handful are truly capable of becoming great. _That_ is not your destiny. You would only serve to be a failure as a shinobi."

Naruto's jaw clenched. He meant to speak, but another bloody cough interrupted him.

"And why is Sasuke so important to you, anyway? He is an Uchiha. A member of one of the greatest clan's in the shinobi world. He, too, is destined for greatness. You would be holding him back by keeping him here. Do you really think someone like him fits in at all with a big group of failure shinobi and farmers as his home?"

Naruto was now on one knee, his other leg struggling to push itself up. He held his stomach, trying to ignore the pain. "I said…shut. UP!"

Slowly, he stood back up. His legs were straight, but he was nowhere near his full height. His back was bent over as he tried to flush out the pain of Neji's attack. "I don't who the hell you are…and I don't care what the hell you think. Destiny means nothing to me. And Sasuke…Sasuke is my friend! I won't let some bastard shinobi in Konoha take him away! You stole his family; you stole his life! He finally found peace here, and now you want to force him away from it. People like you are the ones I hate the most… It's bastards like you that I could never forgive!"

Neji's eyes narrowed. Slowly, Naruto stood straight up, his back no longer keeled over. He no longer held his abdomen in pain. His expression was of utmost anger; Neji felt a wave of powerful killer intent wash over him. His eyes seemed different…almost as if his pupils had acquired a new shape.

"That…" he heard from behind him. "What…is this?" He turned to see that Itachi was staring at Naruto, his Sharingan activated.

Neji activated his Byakugan, curious, and followed Itachi's gaze. What he found…was impossible.

_What…? How could this be? Did I…screw up?_

Chakra was pouring through Naruto's chakra circulatory system; a flood of it forcing open his tenketsu points.

"This chakra…" Itachi muttered. "Isn't human…"

Suddenly, Naruto disappeared from Neji's vision. _Where did he…?_

A sudden pain in his back alerted him to Naruto's new location, but Neji could do nothing as he was thrown forward with incredible power. He rolled through the grass and threw himself back up, only to find the blonde in his face, a powerful punch flying towards him.

Neji flew back, only to have a barrage of strikes, inflicted by multiple Naruto's send him flying even farther. He couldn't see...they were too fast! He had no time to react, not a single chance to escape the assault. One clone kicked upwards in the stomach, sending him an unnatural distance into the air. Another appeared above him and grabbed his arms, flipping him over and throwing him back down into a tree.

The last one jumped passed him, ricocheting off the tree and grabbing Neji once more by the arms. He dragged him across the earth before hurling him once more across the clearing. Neji rolled through the grass again and slammed into a tree. He opened his eyes, only to see the blonde roar and prepare to come after him.

However, a dark figure suddenly slammed into Naruto just as he began to move, throwing him into a tree. Naruto suddenly felt an intense, searing pain run through him as he was impaled in the chest by a long katana. Several kunai caught his arms on the tree.

Naruto forced his eyes open and gazed at the emotionless face of Uchiha Itachi.

"That power…I do not know what it was. But you cannot be allowed to live. I've pierced the nerves in both of your arms and ripped apart one of your lungs. You won't suffer long; you will be dead in less than an hour. Whatever you are, Uzumaki Naruto, you will never trouble Konoha ever again."

Neji stood back up, seeing the quick work that Itachi had made of Naruto. Itachi removed his sword and turned to his partner. "Come, Neji." He said. He grabbed Sasuke. Neji gathered himself and followed Itachi as they dashed out of the clearing and into the adjacent forest.

Naruto, stuck nailed to the tree, tried to call after them, but only a small croak escaped his lips.

"Sasu…ke…"

He began to feel the cool drops of the coming rain. The kunai loosened, and Naruto fell to the ground.

_My body…feels so heavy. I can't move… And it's cold… Am I…dying?_

Within a matter of minutes, rain was pouring all around, flooding the nearby pond. Loud splashing sounds echoed through the trees. There was the faint sound of rustling in the bushes, before everything suddenly went dark. Before he blacked out, Naruto heard footsteps splashing in the water, and the image of a solemn Minato appeared to him shortly before his vision gave out.

Minato gazed at the small battlefield, and his two defeated students. But there were no words to be said. Whatever had occurred here was over.

Xxxxx

Warmth slowly spread throughout Naruto's body, seemingly illuminating the darkness surrounding him. He could see nothing, and yet the disappearance of the cold he had been feeling suddenly made feel that much more alive.

_It was cold up until a moment ago. And the pain is gone… Is this death?_

**HOHO… SO LIFE HAS RETURNED HAS RETURNED TO YOU.**

_What…? _

**IT SEEMS MY IMPRISONMENT HAS NOT YET ENDED…**

_Who…who are you?_

Naruto suddenly found himself conscious of his body. He was floating in darkness…until a gargantuan eye appeared before him. It had a sinister appearance, inspiring even more fear than that of the Hyuga. Its pupil was a slit, bisecting the eyeball in two.

**I AM YOUR SAVIOR, BOY.**

_Savior…?_

**WHO DO YOU THINK IT WAS THAT TOOK CONTROL WHEN THAT HYUGA ALMOST KILLED YOU?**

_I… I don't know… I lost control… I can barely remember what happened…_

The eye narrowed. Naruto found he had trouble looking at it directly. It scared him more than anything that Hyuga Neji or Uchiha Itachi were capable of… This thing, whatever it was, inspired pure, instinctual fear.

**JUST REMEMBER THIS, BOY. YOU ARE NO ORDINARY BEING…**

_What do you mean?_

Suddenly, a floor appeared beneath his feet. Naruto looked down and found that he was standing on a concrete ground. Suddenly, great pillars of steel emerged between himself and the eye. He felt moisture in the air…almost as if some water-like substance was so abundant that it felt as if it were the presence of another person.

**IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE…THEN GO TO KONOHA.**

_Konoha? Why…why Konoha? What am I?_

**THE ANSWERS ARE IN KONOHA.**

_What answers? Answers to what? Hey, answer me!_

The great eye had disappeared, and the voice along with it. Naruto now found himself all alone, before a great wave of heat washed over him. Light poured in through his eyes. When he finally was able to stand the light, he opened one eye, only to have the light blocked out by a large, dark figure.

A large, black, rectangle was hovering above him. Naruto let his gaze wander lower down, and he found a great, circular eye staring directly into his own.

A moment passed, before understanding sunk in.

"Gaah! Lee! Get the hell out of my face!"

"Hmmm! It would seem the light has returned to my brother! How wonderful! But his eyes…they speak of fear! Did I scare you, Naruto?!"

Naruto pushed Lee away, wiping his eyes. "No, you idiot…but your eyebrows sure as hell did! When the hell is the last time you trimmed those?! I couldn't even see past them!"

"M-my eyebrows? I've never trimmed them before…people do that?"

"They do when they're that huge…" Naruto muttered. "Hey, what the hell were you doing hovering over me like that? And where the hell am I…"

He looked around and found that he was back at home, in his own room. Suddenly, the door flew open and Minato entered.

"You shouldn't move around so much…" he advised. "Your wounds may open."

"Wounds…" Naruto repeated. Suddenly, all memory of the battle against the Konoha shinobi returned to him. "Shit! Sasuke! Where's Sasuke?! They…they were getting away with him!"

"Naruto, calm down," Minato said.

"But Sasuke! They took him! Konoha!"

"I know what happened. Tenten told me everything."

"T-Tenten…!" Naruto gasped. "What happened to her? She was hurt!"

"Tenten's fine. I healed her wounds. They weren't so bad. You, on the other hand, have been out cold for nearly thirty-six hours…"

"W-what…?! Minato! We have to go after them and rescue Sasuke!"

Minato stopped and gazed at Lee. Then, he said, "Lee, would you mind leaving us alone?"

"Ossu!" He saluted, and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"…Does Lee not know what happened?" Naruto asked, confused.

"He knows. As do Shikamaru and Sakura. I would just prefer to do this in privacy…"

"Do what?"

Minato sighed and took a seat opposite of Naruto. "This will be hard to explain… Look, Naruto. When I found you guys…your enemies were long gone. And…Sasuke with them."

"N-no… Dammit, why? Why didn't you go after them? Why didn't you just heal me right there, we could have stopped them!"

Minato looked away. "The thing is, Naruto. Shinobi units usually operate in teams of four. Tenten told me what happened… You fought two Konoha ninja. Hyuga Neji and…Uchiha Itachi."

"U-Uchiha… Itachi? That means that he's…"

"Precisely. The man you saw, with the dark hair, who gave you those wounds. That was Sasuke's brother."

Naruto felt anger well up inside him, remembering the cold, emotionless face that had gazed at him so calmly, explaining that he had to be killed.

_That guy… He's the one that killed Sasuke's whole family…_

"There was no way anyone could have gone after them," Minato said. "They had a head start. And they also probably had two fresh teammates, ready for battle. There was no way we could have stopped them."

Naruto hung his head down in shame. "I…I couldn't stop them… I should have been able to… I could have!"

"No," Minato interrupted. "You couldn't."

Naruto looked up at him, somewhat angry, and yet also intrigued that Minato so easily vouched for his defeat. "Those two were out of your league… Perhaps the Hyuga, you could have defeated. But from what Tenten said, he must be an exceptional genius among the members of that clan. However, Itachi… Uchiha Itachi, is someone that you don't have a shred of a hope of defeating. He's a man who is nearly undefeatable… The Sharingan in itself is a tool that, when used to its full potential, is nearly impossible to defeat. Itachi is a genius among a clan of geniuses."

"You're speaking like you know him."

"Even while living here, I've heard many things about him. Sagisu, especially, gets a lot of news about him."

"But still…" Naruto said. "That doesn't change anything. Sasuke was still taken away… To a place that he ran away from in the first place! We have to rescue him!"

Minato sighed. "Do you realize what you're suggesting? Naruto, you're talking about infiltrating a village filled to the brim with powerful shinobi."

Naruto's jaw clenched. "I… I don't care. It has to be done… No matter what, I'll save Sasuke. I don't care if I have to go through a thousand shinobi villages… I'll rescue him if it's the last thing I do."

Minato stared him right in the eye. "Is that really how you feel?"

Naruto nodded. "I see," he said. "If that's the case…"

Naruto gazed at him, surprised to be hearing anything close to an agreement.

"Even among the five great shinobi villages, Konoha is known as one of the greatest. Its Hokage is a ruthless man named Orochimaru, whose name is known throughout the entire world. Others like Uchiha Itachi exist; you would have to go through them all, if you really want to rescue Sasuke. The way you are now, you don't have any hope of achieving that goal."

"What are you saying?"

"Two years," Minato answered, holding up his index and middle finger. "I'll train you, all five of you, for two years. And when that time has passed… I'll help you to infiltrate Konoha and rescue Sasuke."

"W-we can't wait two whole years! It's way too much time! Something could happen to Sasuke!"

"Konoha won't do anything to him. He is one of the last remaining members of the Uchiha clan; he's an asset. If anything, they'll try to turn him into a weapon. But Orochimaru favors the powerful; Sasuke will be treated like a prince. An imprisoned prince, but a prince nonetheless."

Naruto nodded. "So give me two years to bully you," Minato continued. "And then you're off. I've already spoken to the others. They all want the same thing; even Shikamaru was willing to train for this."

"Ossu!"

"Now, you better get back to resting. You'll never become stronger if you don't let those wounds heal."

"Yes, sir. Although…" Naruto was not sure how to explain his next question.

"What is it?"

"Minato… Is there…is there anything…inside me?"

His guardian's eyes narrowed. "…Why would you think that?" He asked in a calm, nearly emotionless tone.

"It's just that…while I was unconscious…something…no, some_one_ spoke to me."

"I see."

"And also," he added, "when I was fighting… I was beaten by that Neji guy. And then…then I got real angry, and sort of lost control. I can't really remember what happened too well… But it was like something was controlling me. As if my rage was leading me and giving me power. I…I think I nearly killed him."

Minato looked out the window. "I see."

"Minato?"

"Yes?"

"You know something, don't you?"

Minato looked back at Naruto, then down at the ground. "I suppose it's now or never then. You would have had to be told eventually…"

"What? What is it?"

"Naruto…you have to understand. This…this is a secret that not even Sagisu is aware of. If anyone finds out about it…it could place you in a very dire danger. Even I may be unable to protect you."

"W-what…"

"Naruto…inside you is sealed an ancient beast. The Kyubi no Yoko. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

"What…what do you mean?"

"When you were born, the fox was sealed inside you. You see, a being that powerful cannot be killed by humans. It is an impossible feat. The only choice was for it to be sealed away. Sealing it inside an inanimate object would be too risky; it could easily fall into the wrong hands. It had to be sealed inside a person, but because most people could not handle its power and a shinobi's chakra circulatory system would conflict with the Kyubi's power, it had to be sealed within an infant. That infant…was you, Naruto."

Naruto found himself unable to speak. Eventually, he managed a few words. "D…does that make me…"

Minato's eyes widened, anticipating the question. "Naruto, I swear, if you ask me if that makes you a demon, I'll throw you out of this window! By no means are you the Kyubi itself! You are its container; it's guardian. You are the Kyubi's jailor. If the Kyubi were to roam free, if would cause destruction and death across the entire world. By keeping it at bay, you are…a hero."

"A…hero…"

"Yes." Minato stood up, assuming that Naruto would be okay. "You need rest. Go back to sleep."

Naruto nodded, and quickly returned back to sleep as Minato exited the room.

Outside of Naruto's room, Minato was assaulted with a barrage of questions.

"Will he be okay?"

"What was his answer?"

"Can we see him?"

"Are my eyebrows that big?"

"Naruto is going to be fine," he answered. "He's gone back to sleep. More importantly… you guys need to start preparing. Once Naruto and Tenten's wounds have healed, you guys are going to have to suffer through hell for two years."

Surprisingly, he was met with a group of iron-hard, motivated expressions. Minato smiled, remembering the foolish little children he had once tested in that clearing. Back then, he had not expected them to turn out so. He could never have anticipated that those annoying little children that didn't even take the Bell Test seriously would be forcing him to train them as professional shinobi.

But he was all the more prouder that it had been their idea and their decision.

"Ehrm…Minato?" Asked Shikamaru, interrupting his thoughts.

"What is it?

"…Nothing. Nevermind." The pony-tailed boy walked off, apparently pondering something.

_Strange…_

The others, too, were all going in their own directions. Minato caught Sakura by the shoulder and led her into another room.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Sakura…that night, I heard rustling in the bushes. You were nowhere to be found before then, and I couldn't find you at all afterwards. That was you, in the bushes, wasn't it?"

Suddenly, the pink-haired girl began to project tears across her face. "I…I…I was there… I saw everything…" she answered. "I saw it all, but I couldn't stop it. I couldn't do anything…I was just frozen in my spot…I couldn't even move to help Tenten and Naruto and Sasuke!"

"It's alright," Minato said. "That's why you're so determined to train, isn't it?"

The sobbing girl nodded. "That's alright. Wanting to become stronger so you can protect those precious to you… That is the most admirable purpose for seeking strength. The fact that all of you are motivated for that reason… I couldn't be prouder of you guys for that."

For a while, Minato comforted her, making sure to fuel her determination. These next couple years, no doubt, were going to be hell for these kids. But in the end… It would lead them towards their goal.

To infiltrate Konoha. To defeat Hyuga Neji. To defeat Uchiha Itachi. And most importantly…

To rescue Sasuke.

* * *

Sorry for the wait. School's been a bitch, lately. Luckily, I was able to get started on the chapter during my Spring vacation. Also, schools reach its peak, and from here on out, the workload should be getting smaller as finals get nearer. It'll be more studying and less homework, and seeing as I hardly study anyway... You get the point (Summer is coming!).

Author's Notes:

Not really too much to say about this chapter. It drove the story into its first real story arc. I also realized something... No matter how much you look forward to writing any chapter, or any scene, once the time comes and that chapter is next on the list, you no longer want to write it. It's weird. Unless I write something ahead of time, I'm never excited to actually write it once its turn comes (and yes, there are several things I have written ahead of time, including one entire chapter).

Anyhoot. Please review. Whenever I reread reviews, it helps to motivate me to get started on the next chapter. And this will be the last time you'll hear me asking you to review; I don't like to beg, after all.


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